Time and Time Again
by wolfluvermh
Summary: Kendra and Seth are back, and the stakes are higher than ever! The Singing Sisters have Seth's quest out for him, but can he handle slaying the creatures he must? And why does Kendra feel so drawn to the peculiar beasts? On top of everything, time itself is shifting, and a great mother is re-entering the world, awakening at long last...
1. Prologue

**This is my first fanfic, so be nice! PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO IMPROVE! ITS THE LEAST YOU COULD DO!**

**"There are nights when the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls." -George Carlin**

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**~The Wolfen Chronicles: Time and Time again~**

**Prologue**

The old wolf shifts her ancient bones on her stone cold bed, hearing the joints scrape painfully against each other. Brittle bones create pain; but much more pain is coming, pain not just for her, not just for the wolves, but for every creature in existence, and a few that aren't.

Everything is silent for now. Her pups are up against their older sister finding warmth in their sleeping sibling's soft chest fur. The weary wolf studies the pelts of all four of her children; two dark brown, almost black, one the color of chocolate, like herself, and one the purest shade of white in the universe.

Trouble is brewing. In the distance, storms are building. Gods once peaceful are awakening once again.

She must know what is coming in order to protect her family. With a rattling sigh, she focuses and slips into a Time-Trance.

Clouded by golden light, the old wolf has a queer power to see into the future; it's a peculiar talent, true, but one that does not go to waste.

This time, what she sees frightens her, sending a shiver through her scarping bones.

Swirling around one another is night and day, dark and light, held into balance by two children. Siblings…? Perhaps. No, wait! The old wolf focuses on their faces.

Ah. These two. The Sorensons.

Trapped in the middle of the cycle between the two siblings are the wolves, howling to one another. A shot of terror floods her veins as she recognizes that all of the wolves have soulless black eyes.

With no warning, the old wolf has a sensation like she's falling, spiraling down into a pit. Her vision goes foggy, clouded and unorganized. She hears the voices of the two children, the voice of the Fairy Prince, and of his mother, but can't make out what any of them are saying.

The old wolf sees something; one of the precious Soul Stone, falling through the air with her. With a spark of light, she feels energy pass through her body, a gift from her soul itself. Out of nowhere, the brother grabs the powerful jewel and clutches it to his chest, before fading into the mass of the future.

The ancient wolf sees one last image in her mind before mentally smacking into the cold bottom of her dreams; herself, snarling and batting at something. That's normal for wolves, of course, but her eyes aren't their usual colors.

Both of her pupils are black as night, with no color besides the dark shadows.

Deeply disturbed, the wolf wrenches herself from her thoughts, gasping at the feeling of no oxygen in her feeble lungs. Her pups are in danger. Everyone is in danger.

The time for the weak old wolf has past; that was clear in her visions. So, mustering every last reserve of strength, the she wolf rises to her feet; muscles working smoothly at long last. The wolf simply wills herself to feel strong and young again, and her body obeys without question, mending her old bones.

The time of pretending to be Swift-Song has almost come to end.

Cadeliah is needed in the world once more.

She shakes out her thick and glossy new pelt, admiring the shine of oiled fur. Then she fluidly pads out of the roomy den and into the cold night air, looking up at the many stars.

Cadeliah closes her eyes, finding every ounce of magical power still remaining in her weary body, summoning it to do what is right. To herself, she murmurs, "O, Sisters, help them."

And then her mind plunges once more into the world of spirits. Except this time, she has a purpose. Her mind rockets through the world at breakneck speed, it's destination a small preserve nestled away in the hills of Connecticut. She wills her mind to whisper out one word, hoping that it's intended receiver gets her message.

_Seth,_ whispers Cadeliah, Mother of the Wolves. _Seth, I am here._

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**This was my first fanfic, so let me know how I did! Please review, and I'm sorry that it's a little confusing so far… just hang on until chapter one, and then we'll revisit all of the Fablehaven gang!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fablehaven, or anything, really. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! I BEG!**

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**Chapter One**

_Seth_, whispers a voice in his ears. Seth looks around, head whipping from side to side. _Seth,_ _I am here. _

Seth cocks his head and frowns. He hears voices all the time but, hey, they usually aren't in the middle of his bedroom, around no freakishly awesome zombies, and addressing him quite so weirdly. That sums this up, actually; weird.

Seth sets down his phone. He'd been texting a cute girl he'd met a week ago, hoping to maybe get something going. The bed creaks as Seth sits up and looks around.

"Hello, voice in my head," laughs Seth easily with a smile, masking his uncertainties with cheer. "Have I finally kicked the bucket and gone cuckoo?"

A ghostly chuckle rings around in his brain. The voice comes again, strong and deep and definitely feminine. It sounds friendly, but Seth's made too many mistakes to fall victim to that play.

_No, you're perfectly sane. As for my friendliness... Well, naturally_, laughs the voice. _I sound friendly because I am friendly, but I don't expect you to believe that, because you're not an idiot. You won't trust me right away, at least. With time, precious time… perhaps._

"You can read my mind?" Instantly, ever cuss word and inappropriate thought Seth knows flies through his brain. A sensation like sighing rolls over his chest.

_Unfortunately, yes, I can read your mind. I really do not need nor want to know what Kendra looks like undressed, Seth._

"I'll bet you don't," says Seth, shaking his head, as if that'll get rid of the creepy lady in his head.

_Creepy lady? _muses the voice. _Well, I don't know about creepy, but I'm certainly not a woman. _

"Who are you?" breathes Seth, rising from his cot, eyes flicking around the playroom, as if maybe he'll be able to spot her by looking around. Which is very stupid.

_I am a mother, a mother very worried about her children, _sighs the voice candidly. Emotions rush over Seth with every word, almost knocking him back onto the bed with their anguish and ferocity. An immense fear washes over Seth, fear of the futures and things to come, followed quickly by fury for those attempting to hurt her family, longing for those she's already lost, and a weariness that eats at Seth's soul. It's finished with a sensation of deep, powerful love.

And not just for this creature's family. For everything; the hunters that track her, the ground she walks upon, the stars that light her path, the ones that hurt her most, and Seth. She loves Seth so much.

_I need your help, Seth, _whispers the voice, begging him for assistance, giving up all pretenses. _The owner of a powerful magical object has fallen right outside the border of Fablehaven. The object is… well, picture this: the soul of a dragon is immensely powerful and deadly, when used correctly. A dragon-soul has the potential to wipe out entire preserves, if one knows how. Now, imagine a race that is ten times more magically gifted then dragons, fifteen times smarter, and thirty times more dangerous. Picture what that would do to their soul. Now, take every soul of every one of those creatures and mash it together, with all of that power and raw emotion. That's what the object is. I ask of you to retrieve the object, before one of my enemies get there first. _

The rushes of emotion had helped Seth determine that the voice is friendly, because he's pretty sure those can't be faked, but he still isn't one hundred percent. "I've already been conned like this," informs Seth, raising his eyebrows, "so if you're trying again, that's a little sad. Why won't you tell me your name, and what this thingy can do? Who's chasing you?"

_I'm not conning you, _chides the deep voice musically, _but I see your reasons to be suspicious. I can't tell you my name, out of fear for your own safety; like the Fairy Queen. She tells none her true name, or else they would be hunted to the ends of the earth. The people who hunt me are my hunters, and that's all you'll ever have to know. I pray that you'll never be swept into this carnage..._

_As for the object…_ The voice trails off, making Seth's suspicions grow. _Honestly, I don't care what you do with it, _she says frankly. _Ideally, it would be fabulous if I could have it to assure that it never falls into the wrong hands, but you're doing me a favor, so do whatever. Throw it away, keep it, study it, whatever. Or you could give it to me. That's nice, too. _

"Fat chance," snorts Seth, but his pulse races. A creature, possibly as powerful as the Fairy Queen, went to him for help; not Kendra or Grandpa or Bracken!

_Of course I went to you. You're Seth Sorenson, the renowned shadow charmer. No matter who you are compared to, the greatest warrior or the noblest king, I will always, always pick you. _

Oh. Seth is so sold.

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Kendra lounges in one of the lawn chairs, pretending to sleep in the springtime sun; it's not very hard to pretend to be taking a nap, considering her drowsiness. Her eyes are just slightly cracked, allowing her to see little slivers of the fairies as they chatter, completely blind to her awareness. Kendra focuses on one little battle between a pair of fairies close to her chair, one fiery orange, and the other elegant blue.

It's an interesting match, because the blue fairy doesn't even seem interested.

The orange fairy chuckles nastily, pointing her finger and laughing at the blue. Her orange-tinted bumble-bee wings beat quickly to hold her little body in the air. A golden slip that glitters and shines in the sunlight is complimented by her neon orange locks of curled hair. The blue fairy looks up, her dark skin tattooed with silvery swirling lines up one arm, matching her nearly white eyes.

"Is something wrong, Gerat?" the blue fairy questions, touching down on one of the lush leaves, pausing the motions of her wings. The blue fairy folds her knees and sits crisscross on the emerald plain of the leaf.

"Nothing at all, I was just think how horrible it would be to not have an inkling of beauty, like demonstrated," titters the orange fairy, Gerat, apparently. She gestures rudely towards the blue fairy. "Don't you ever get bored of being so ugly?"

"I was just asking myself that a few moments ago, actually, when I saw you fluttering over here," counters the blue fairy, standing once more. Her long gown is like a shimmering patchwork of all shades of cobalt, flowing over her like a waterfall of blue gossamer, matching her translucent blue butterlfy wings framing her slim figure. Both of the fairies are magically beautiful, of course, but in slightly different ways; Gerat is more chic and sexy, while the unnamed blue fairy seems more graceful in style, more elegant and mystical. "However fulfilling it is to argue over each other's beauty endlessly, can we pick something to both agree on? I am so weary of all this pointless bickering..."

Kendra has to resist raising her eyebrows. Gerat is taken aback. "Well," she blubbers, brown eyes blinking, "you must agree, that the foolish girl is ugly as an old apple left to rot in the sun after being soaked in pesticides."

"I disagree," adds a new voice, one that sends Kendra's pulse rattling in her veins. The tone used is very disapproving, as if the fact that the fairies aren't bowing down to Kendra's every move is offending.

"Bracken," greets the blue fairy with a small smile, "what a delight to meet you again."

Bracken moves into Kendra's little crescents of sight, his blue eyes flashing with tender amusement. As much as Kendra enjoys "sleeping" around the fairies, she enjoys fooling Bracken even more. When he thinks she's napping, he doesn't bother to put up his careful barriers and walls, leaving her eyes vulnerable to his emotions.

Kendra loves Bracken more than anything else in the universe. She really doesn't care about anything other than his well-being. But Bracken's been carefully keeping to himself, never venturing beyond the friend-zone, ever since the day by the pond, all those months ago, when they had decided to wait. He told her once it was so that Kendra would have a normal life without him intervening, and be able to keep going, and love who she wants; that is, if she can love anyone after experiencing Bracken's admiration, which Kendra seriously doubts. Bracken usually maintains casual conversations, friendly and distant. Sometimes, he acts so nonchalant she wonders if the unicorn prince even still cares about her; in Kendra's eyes, it doesn't make any sense that Bracken would even have somewhat affection for ugly, awkward her. But those doubts had been erased every time by the looks Bracken gives Kendra's deep in conversation, or on the opposite side of the room, or eating her breakfast; any time when he thinks she's not paying him attention, Bracken gazes at Kendra with such warm and tender adoration it warms her from her head to toe. Bracken looks at her like that now, and any time she's pretending to nap, assuming that she can't see his emotional eyes.

And his eyes…

Kendra allows herself to peer at them through her lids, becoming transfixed by their deep and complex beauty. Imagine the color of the sky, a beautifully exotic turquoise, bright and expressive. Then layer that with translucent shades of silver and grey, ringed with a smidgen of gold lining his dark pupils, and you'll have Bracken's eyes, little masterpieces of their own.

"Is she asleep?" he whispers to the blue fairy, who smiles at him warmly. The fairy isn't swooning as so many of the other fairies surrounding Bracken are, but treating him like a friend and equal.

"Oh, yes," chatters the blue fairy, turning to Kendra. Kendra is delightfully mortified to see the blue fairy wink teasingly. Had the fairy known the whole time? "She's been sleeping a lot in the gardens lately; having all sorts of horrible nightmares at, uh, night, so she catches some shut-eye in the garden, under our watchful eyes."

"Thank you," murmurs Bracken, not looking at the fairy anymore. His glorious features are illuminated by a shaft of sunlight. He's so handsome it makes Kendra's chest hurt. His silvery white hair had gotten cut since his long days imprisoned in the Living Mirage, so it hangs attractively around his ears, giving the Fairy Prince an adorable rugged appearance. With broad shoulders and strong muscles rippling with every movement, Kendra can't help but feel nervous butterflies in her stomach.

Bracken moves towards her, strong arms curling underneath Kendra's shoulders and under her knees. Kendra lets out a sleepy groan to keep the skit going, allowing Bracken to cradle her in his powerful arms. She buries her head into his strong chest, admiring the flex of muscles. Bracken chuckles softly, sending a vibration through his flesh, one that Kendra feels underneath her skin.

After a split second of indecision, Kendra links her arms around his neck and pulls herself closer to him. Bracken leans down his head slightly, allowing his breath to roll over Kendra's face. It smells like a blend of fragrant wildflowers and sweet grass, with just the slightest tint of spicy pine tree needles.

"Hello, Kendra," he whispers lovingly as he begins to walk, rocking in accordance with his powerful strides as he carries Kendra to the house, the motion lulling her.

"Hey, Unicorn." Kendra's surprised by the drowsiness in her own voice. She doesn't fake the yawn that escapes her lips. "Oops, sorry."

"It's alright to yawn, Kendra," laughs Bracken gently. "I don't care." Kendra shrugs against him. Bracken's next words are hesitant and cautious, as if he's addressing an angry sabertooth cat.

"Just out of interest, where's your brother going?"

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**How was it? Please review! Did I write Bracken well? What about Seth? Help me out and WRITE A REVIEW!**

**~wolfluvermh**


	3. Chapter 2

**Please REVIEW, and let me know if anything's confusing! Please I can't get any better if you don't review!**

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**Chapter Two**

Seth stares at the faint sparkle lying in the dirt, blanketed in a few green leaves, hidden from obvious view. Seth never would've noticed the oily gleam if the voice hadn't pointed it out. The sunlight can't really pierce through the thick canopy of the trees in this part of the forest, only a few yards from the yard. It's strange, though, because he can't see the light green of the grass when he glances behind him. "This is it?"

_Yes. And it looks very suspicious, doesn't it? Maybe you shouldn't approach… I would rather my enemies be injured by a trap they set for themselves and put their filthy mitts all over my jewel than you ever get harmed. _Seth growls in frustration.

"That's making it very hard to not trust you, you know that, right?" he sighs, eyeing the glint in the leaves. "I said I would get it, I'll get it…"

_Alright_, agrees the voice. _Just be careful, please. When you touch the surface of the gem, you'll get a little shock. That's the feeling of the gem looking at your soul, deciding if you're worth sharing its power with. Don't worry; nothing bad happens if it doesn't like you, it's just increasingly difficult to access its power. It should help that I'm in your brain._

"Great," sighs Seth. "I wish you'd tell me what it is."

_You'll find out soon enough. _

Oh, doesn't that sound cheery and wonderful? He's probably going to end up blowing Fablehaven up. With a groan, Seth steps forward towards the object warily. Nothing happens. Two more steps. Still nothing. Gaining confidence, Seth's feet crunch across the leaves as he walks forward. He kneels down and brushes the debris away, and gasps at the sight of the biggest freaking jewel Seth had ever seen.

It's beautiful. Wow, that sounds corny. But it is. The deep, exotic purple color of the stone seems endless and wonderful. It's roughly the size of several baseballs squished together, small enough to hold in both hands, with glittering facets carved into the surface. In the very center of the jewel, the purple darkens into a midnight blue mist, a fog that twists and swirls in the middle of the stone, writhing with some intricate dance.

"Whoa," breathes Seth, staring into the heart of the jewel. The colors are mesmerizing, like some sort of hypnotic thingy. Before Seth can stop himself, he snatches up the stone, and his world goes white.

Pure power rips through his veins, tearing him apart from the inside. Emotions rages through Seth, none of them happy; pain, sorrow, grief, fury, depression, hopelessness, weariness, and death. So much death. This sort of power, this sort of emotional burden, isn't meant for anything living. Seth screams, unable to stop himself, and suddenly, it stops, going as quickly as it had come.

Seth drops to the ground, gasping like a fish out of water. He cradles the stone to his chest, surprised by how light the large gem is.

_Interesting. It's not only taken to you, it's sharing its power willingly. Now is where I leave you, Child of the Wolf. Watch your back, for as long as someone, just one person, knows that it's in your possession, so will They. So long and goodbye, Seth Sorenson; I'm no longer the only one vying for your attention…_

"Wait, what?" yelps Seth, still holding the gem in his hands. But the voice doesn't answer, leaving Seth alone in the woods, holding a giant orb of power.

He's freaked out enough, and that's before he hears the gunshot.

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Kendra stiffens in Bracken's arms at the sound of a gunshot, going rigid as a board. The loud bang echoes around the garden, making the soft tinkle of chattering fairies go silent. All of the little ladies look at each other with sad or frightened expressions and flutter off, zipping away into the leaves, as if hiding.

"Put me down," she orders Bracken, voice going sharp with stress. Bracken obeys, and quickly places his own body in protection over Kendra, arms spread and muscles tense. It's sweet how he does that, but it gets a little annoying; she can take care of herself!

The garden is silent. The eerie emptiness makes Kendra's skin crawl and tickle. Bracken remains wary, however, still scanning the area and keeping Kendra safely behind him. His hand lingers on the pearly unicorn horn at his waist.

Out of nowhere, someone calls desperately, "Run, idiots!" A giant wolf bursts through the foliage, carving a coarse path through the carefully hedged garden, and making the fairies twitter with scolding. Her cream-colored fur is splashed with red, and one of her back legs is mangled beyond recognition. One shoulder-bone pokes out of her skin.

At first, Kendra thinks this is what the voice had warned them about, and apparently Bracken does, too. He tenses and crouches, pulling his second horn out of his belt loop, and transforming it into a gleaming abalone sword. The wolf doesn't seem to care; it's legs lock up and it stares at Kendra, blue eyes flashing with terror.

"What are you doing?" demands the wolf with the same female voice that'd called out for Kendra to run. "You're all dead! He's coming! Run!"

Bracken relaxes slightly, eyes sweeping past the wolf.

_Bam!_

The she wolf's head explodes, splattering red all over the yard. Kendra flinches as a droplet of the warm liquid splashes across her cheek. The she wolf drops to the ground lifelessly, paws limp and lower jaw all that remains of her head. Behind the wolf a man comes into view, smug smile on his face.

He's tall, taller than anyone Kendra had ever seen before, but definitely human. A fedora shields his eyes, but she can see enough of his face to know that he's exceedingly handsome, but nothing compared to Bracken. His cheeks are dusted with the fine dapples of a beard. A trench coat hides the rest of his body from view, everything but a futuristic pistol in one hand.

Kendra's heart beats quickly and erratically, giving away her absolute terror. What is going on? Who is this man? How did he get into Fablehaven? Would he hurt Bracken? Kendra's heart leaps to her throat. God, no, please don't let Bracken be injured…

"Oh, hello there. Back away please."

The man slips the gun in a pocket, and strides forward to examine his kill. Bracken snarls, a primitive sound, making the man stop in his tracks about halfway to the now-dead wolf. Kendra stares in horror at the poor creature. It could've run away, and completed its journey to a safe zone or whatever the wolf had been doing. But it had stopped, it had warned them, instead of letting them perish at this man's hands.

And that makes Kendra furious.

Really, truly furious. She hasn't felt this way in ages, since almost three years ago at Zzyxx, when Vasilis had magically enhanced her emotions. Adrenaline rushes through her, and her trained eyes pick out the man's weaknesses. He doesn't seem to be wearing any armor, at least anything visible. The only thing he seems to have is that gun, actually…

If only she had thought to bring her bow…

"Please just leave," the stranger says with a pleasant voice, like he's congratulating the garden or ordering coffee. His casual tone doesn't help Kendra's mood. "I really don't need a unicorn carcass right now; there's an incredibly low demand on unicorn horns…"

Kendra pulls her emergency knife out of its scabbard, relishing the hiss of the leather releasing the dagger. The man looks over to her calmly, as if just noticing her appearance. "Hello, sweetheart. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there's a problem!" spits Kendra before Bracken can intervene. He glances back at her with trepidation. "You just shot down a creature! And how are you even here? What did she ever do to you?"

"Hush," warns Bracken, shifting his weight.

The man seems amused by this. "I'm a hunter, a hunter of the Phillips Corporation, miss; it's what we do. I'm allowed in every preserve that has any wolf scum in it; of course, as soon as I purify… whatchamacallit? Fablehaven? Whatever it is, once I kill the wolfies here, I won't be able to stroll around anymore. I'm enjoying your tourist attractions while I can."

"Why are you hunting the Great Wolves?" questions Bracken, cutting off Kendra's hot reply, his voice calm, but with hardly detectable undercurrents of anger. "They are not evil, and the beasts would never hurt anyone from my experience. Normally, the wolves are quite docile."

The hunter studies Bracken from underneath his broad cap. Then he grins and sweeps into a huge bow. "Nice ta meet yah, mister Fairy Prince. The name's Ryan. Now, how about you back away from my kills before I blow your girlfriend's head up?"

And that's when the second wolf arrives.

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**I cannot stress this enough, so I will be annoying instead. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Let me know how I'm doing! I know you're reading this and not reviewing! It might be a bit before the next chapter, but I'll do my best… **


	4. Chapter 3

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW! THANKS, PEOPLE THAT REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER****! IT REALLY DOES HELP!**

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**Chapter Three**

Bracken hears the furious grumble before he catches sight of the wolf. The leaves rustle at the edge of the clearing, moving aside to let a great beast pass. A noble wolf, about eleven feet from nose to tail, gazes at them across the meadow. The figure is male, decides Bracken. The wolf's broad shoulders, huge size, and broad head come into play as he estimates its gender.

Kendra gasps from behind him. He glances back at her, trying to play down his affection in his reassuring look. It's difficult, especially with one as beautiful and charming as Kendra, but it's for the best. Bracken had made her a promise, those two, almost three years ago; he wouldn't intervene with her love life, and, once she turns eighteen, she'll be able to choose for herself if she wants him still. He must not make the decision any harder for her to wait for than it already is; he knows he hurts Kendra by the distance, but she'd hurt even more if he stayed close but just out of reach.

Shaking his head to rid his train of thoughts, Bracken turns back to the wolf, looking beyond Ryan the hunter.

Bracken stares at the dark wolf intently, trying to gauge his expression. Wolves are even harder to figure out than humans; they don't feel much in the way of hatred or fury. They mostly just love and continue through life, without a care in the world. Well, no... they hate and they get angry, but they do it... professionally, in a way.

They forgive, but they never, ever forget.

In the first few years of his life being hornless, Bracken had wandered from home. It wasn't that the other unicorns hadn't accepted that he was hornless, or that he hadn't been able to fit in. Bracken simply had felt out of place among the palace walls; he isn't quite a unicorn anymore, and it wasn't natural for him to remain there. He had run into wolves, and it had been their patient love that had taught him his first lessons on properly socializing.

It had been a small pack, one where love flourished and stories of the times before even his days were told around flickering fires underneath skies where the night seemed endless and beautiful.

But those days are over now, and Bracken forces himself to remain in the present.

The dark wolf stares back at him expressionlessly for three seconds. Then, one black paw stretches over the plants. Tentatively, he plants it on the ground, splaying his huge paw as he tests whether or not the barriers will forbid his passage onto the protected land surrounding the mansion. His golden eyes gleam as he takes another tentative step forward, one of his back legs cleaving through the foliage.

The wolf's smile is unusually baleful for his species, perhaps indicating a mental disorder, or a troubled past with this particular hunter, others like him, or just humanity in general; whatever the reason, the fangs displayed in the wolf's grin makes Bracken uneasy. He shifts into a more protective stance over Kendra.

The wolf darts forward and Bracken can see the raw power as he races onward, legs a blur, bulleting past the hunter and Bracken, completely overshooting his dash. Bracken frowns at the wolf's sobriety. He doesn't appear to have a good hold on himself, sprinting past both Ryan and Kendra.

Unless that was part of his plan… Bracken moves into an easier position to defend Kendra from both the wolf and the hunter. Ryan's at ease with the wolf's odd behavior, as if this is what he deals with every single day. Actually, using Bracken's prior knowledge of hunters he'd run into in the past, this is precisely what he does every day. Bracken turns his attention back to the runaway animal mostly, but he keeps the corner of his eye focused on the hunter. Maybe if the Hunter becomes distracted, Bracken can make his move... but that might leave Kendra vulnerable...

Bracken's keen eyes trace the wolf's path to a small bundle of fur, shivering and staring at the dead figure lying on the ground with wide eyes. A pup. Rage seethes in Bracken as he realizes that they'd been a family. A happy family, nestled into a cheerful preserve, with pups and futures and dreams.

"Oh, god," breathes Kendra. Through the proximity of their bodies, Bracken can feel her emotions. Horrified, mostly, but also miserable. He casts her a glance, wondering why she would feel such things. Bracken has a suspicion he's going to find out.

The black wolf swoops down and catches his pup's scruff in his mouth. The child yelps at first, and then relaxes, recognizing his father and trusting the figure. The desperate father rings back around, hurtling past the house, throwing back clumps of dirt in his wake. As he races past the deck, Warren rushes out, sword in hand.

Bracken halfway fears that Warren may give into his fears as a possible threat circling his place of residence, succumbing to humanity's instincts. But the man watches the wolf go with a look remarkably akin to wonder. Breathing a sigh of relief, Bracken begins to turn back around, prepared to face this new attacker.

Kendra screams, the sound of her terror making Bracken alert and frantic. He swivels around to her, anxiety erupting in his chest like a flame as Bracken catches her wrist in a firm grasp. He traces her line of sight to Ryan, and freezes as well.

"I warned you," sighs Ryan genteelly. "I really did. Now it's time to say goodnight. I think I'll kill the fairykind first; what do you think, Bracken, O Prince of Fairies?"

Bracken's pulse hammers in his veins, and his grip on Kendra's arm tightens to something that may be a little extreme for her fragile bones. But Bracken can't make himself let go. He can't let Kendra die. No, Kendra can't die. It'd be like turning out a light for Bracken; the more adjusted he becomes to her brilliance, the more he craves it, the more he depends on it. If that light were to be extinguished… Bracken would rather die than go back to the dark world, the world without Kendra's illumination. If that light were to be switched off, there would be nothing left living for, nothing lit up by her light. He would simply be without a purpose.

Bracken would rather die a thousand times than let anything happen to Kendra.

This foolish, irresponsible man thinks he can shut off Kendra's light? Never in a thousand years. Bracken stands over Kendra protectively. He can feel her fear behind him, and that fans the flames. Bracken twists his hand, jerking his horn and whispers, "Away with you," in his native language. The gun soars out of the hunter's grasp, flying into a bush. Bracken can hear a fairy titter in surprise.

Ryan glares at Bracken. He resists the urge to laugh, and to goad on his opponent. "Well played, unicorn," growls the hunter, cocking his head. "Why don't we talk this out like civilized people?"

That does nothing to calm Bracken. "You just threatened to kill Kendra," says Bracken, struggling to keep his voice normal, and failing. It's time someone knows how angry he is, though. "You think that I'm just going to skip along with you and wait for you to pull out another gun? And since when have you been civilized? You're more savage than the cruelest of animals, more corrupt that any demon. You are not fit to insult civilized humans by comparing yourself to them."

Ryan raises his eyebrows, mockingly impressed. "Does your boyfriend ever shut up?" he questions Kendra, gaze locked on Bracken.

"He does, actually," chats Kendra from behind Bracken, her voice making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "But only when _I _tell him to shaddap. And, if you've been paying attention, I haven't said a thing."

Ryan's eyes darken underneath his hat. He leans back on his heels, and studies Kendra with more interest than Bracken is comfortable with. He doesn't want anyone looking at Kendra like that; much less another male. In a way, that surprises Bracken. In another, it honestly doesn't. Kendra is his, and he is Kendra's. The unicorn part of his mind muses about how odd it is he feels this way if they aren't technically in a… what are they called? Oh, yes. _Relationship._

Bracken hopes Kendra feels the same way.

Focus.

"So, you're a puppy-lover, eh?" questions Ryan, still addressing Kendra. The hunter completely ignores Bracken, which sends more unease trickling into Bracken's stomach.

"Excuse me?"

"You support the wolves."

Kendra snorts behind Bracken. She twists out of Bracken's grip, making him panic slightly, and storms right up to Ryan. She taps him three times in the chest, standing on her toes so the furious girl can look him in the eye. "Of course I support the wolves! You just frigging shot one of them, and tore a family apart! Does that not bother you?"

The hunter shrugs loftily. "Not really."

"Kendra," Bracken hisses, his unease building with every passing second. "Please…"

After a second of the stare-off between fairykind and hunter, Kendra turns her back and swiftly strides back to Bracken. He can't help but notice how beautiful she looks furious; like an avenging queen, almost.

"Sweetheart," the hunter calls to her while she regains her placement safely behind Bracken, causing his skin to prickle with anger, "doesn't it bother you that you're a traitor to your own race?"

Kendra freezes behind Bracken. His eyes narrow. Bracken isn't sure what the hunter means, but he knows for sure that he upset Kendra. As Kendra's friend, that should irritate him. As Kendra's protector, that should anger him. But as Kendra's unicorn, it makes Bracken cold with rage. It takes every bit of self-control Bracken has to swallow his resentment and not rip out the hunter's throat.

"What do you mean?" demands Kendra, her voice that tone Bracken knows all-to-well. His heart constricts. Kendra only talks like that when she's trying to be brave for other's sakes, hiding her true fears and insecurities to become strong and flawless. At least, as flawless as Kendra can be in her own eyes. To him, she's always perfect, inside and out.

Focus.

Bracken breathes out, focusing in the sound of his rattling exhale. He glares at the hunter, eyes betraying his silent warning: "Don't you dare say a thing to hurt her, or you'll be dead before you can reach the woods."

"Honey," sighs Ryan, cocking his head, "wolves are the enemies of humans. We've been groomed all of our lives, trained ever since birth to hate wolves. Even in children's books, we've been taught. Did you not think that the Big Bad Wolf was real? They're scum from the night, and it's time they left the earth's fate alone. However, not many people know about the wolves and all this magical crap. So, those of us that are aware, that's our duty. Our honor."

Bracken blinks. It's not the speech itself that bothers Bracken so much; no, Bracken's met more delusional than even this nutjob. It's the waves of hate and determination radiating off of Ryan, the cold will to get things done, no matter how brutal the task.

"I don't believe you," hisses Kendra, but Bracken can feel her deflating as she thinks of his logic, and her thoughts beginning to wander to the, "What if...?"

The hunter smiles as evilly as a demon, and tips his hat. "I'll be going now. This has been fun."

Something happens, so brisk Bracken's eyes can't even really track everything that occurs. He sees Ryan whip out a second gun, this one larger and with more unnecessary flashing lights, and aim it at Kendra. Bracken feels himself move to protect her, but the corner of his eye notices something else.

A black blur hurtles from the woods, leaping through the air, just a millisecond before the bullet leaves the rifle, and the deafening bang echoes around the clearing.

Bracken stares at the black body of the wolf, lying on the ground, panting with pain-filled whines, with a clean bullet wound in its shoulder.

"That's an old trick, but it works every time," explains Ryan smugly, returning his rifle to its secret pocket. "It's in their nature to protect anything innocent, no matter the cost of their own lives. So, you just -"

The hunter never finishes his sentence. "Catch," snarls Kendra murderously, her voice filled with fury and grief. She tosses her dagger through the air in a long throw, sending it sailing in an arch towards Ryan.

Bracken gets a sinking feeling as he realizes her throw is all wrong; the dagger will hit him with the hilt, not the blade, and will probably miss him altogether. The throw is too long; it's probably going to land right behind Ryan...

A hand reaches up and seizes the blade by the hilt from behind the hunter, and Bracken quickly reassesses the situation as Seth forms out of nowhere, proceeding to lower the dagger around Ryan's vulnerable throat.

God bless adolescent shadow charmers and their desire to cause mischief.

But Bracken quickly realizes something is not right in Seth's fury. He's blown the entire situation out of proportion, and the wrath in his eyes not only his own. That sends Bracken's senses tingling. Instinctively, he reaches out with his mind, and meets raw power, power so intoxicating that Bracken gasps and pulls back from Seth, and reassesses the young shadow charmer's anger.

Seth's brown eyes are nearly black with rage, his face a mask of fury, burning like a brand. He appears slightly taller, maybe half an inch, nothing noticeable to one that doesn't know what he's doing. Muscles that hadn't been visible mere minutes ago bulge, and Bracken's suspicions are confirmed.

With a swift motion, Kendra's dagger slices through Ryan's throat before the hunter can really interpret his surroundings. Blood streams from the elegant cut through the hunter's jugular vein, and Ryan's eyes pop in surprise, mouth opening in an O of shock. He falls to the ground, lifeless, limbs splayed in positions that no living being would make.

Oh, how quickly a life ends, and how swiftly Death takes its toll. As soon as Ryan hits the dirt, silence falls over the land, quiet respects paid in speechlessness. Seth blinks in appalled astonishment, as if he can't believe it had been he who ended the Hunter 's life. The only noises are the gasping whimpers of the black wolf, the sound of his breaths slowly getting shallow and small. After a minute of silent condolences, Kendra kneels besides the black wolf, placing his huge head gingerly on her lap, and running her fingers through the silky fur behind his ears and along his neck. The wolf looks up at her with one eyeball, studying her face mournfully.

"You saved our lives," whispers Kendra softly, stroking his fur. "Thank you." The wolf whines a bit more, most likely not even in control of his whimpers, and then responds with a deep melodic voice, "It's wh-what I do." The shivering in his strained voice saddens Bracken. A deep chuckle rocks his bleeding body. "Five h-h-hundred years of w-warning others to be wary of exactly th-that kind of play, and I -" he breaks off with a gasp, and a fresh wave of blood flows from the wound - "I f-f-fall to the exact same game."

"What's your name?" asks Kendra in a hushed tone, massaging over his drooping eyes.

"I? They call m-me Aladdin." Seth grins behind the wolf.

"Like, the Arabian dude with the fez?" The wolf watches Seth carefully, his eyes saddening beyond anything Bracken had ever felt before.

"You have a terrible burden, child," sighs the wolf, his voice evening. "Ah, I'm in the Ghosting stage of death. I can speak easier now. Know that wolves will answer to your call, young shadow charmer; it will help you on your journey."

Seth frowns, but Kendra interrupts. "Why did he want to kill you, Aladdin?" she questions gently, pushing a bloody piece of fur out of his eyes. Aladdin sighs. "Once, wolves were a brilliant race of love and harmony and justice. But then humanity stole our very soul, and found that we are as weak as idiotic animals without it. It's become a thrill, a game, a sport, a game." Aladdin's voice is grieving, as if he's lost many to this game.

"My son," breathes Aladdin, strength fading quickly. Bracken kneels besides Aladdin, places a palm on his blood-sodden pelt. "Please, take care of my son. He still doesn't understand why his siblings never came home, and now none of his family will ever tell my little Flash-Foot how much he is loved. That is your job. Tell him how much I love him. Tare care of him, but an older sister will be picking him up soon; perhaps in a day or two. That is, if they did not get to her also..."

"We will," promises Kendra, running her fingers through his thick mane. "I swear, I won't let anything happen to your pup."

"Thank you," whispers Aladdin. Bracken feels the last of his strength fading, underneath his palm. Sadly, he looks at Kendra, and she gets the message from his eyes. Kendra chokes back a sob, cradling his enormous black head to her chest. "Please," he breathes, "give him back his soul, and return the wolves to their former glory."

The wolf never speaks again.

Kendra kisses the wolf on his broad forehead and sobs, her tears trickling over Aladdin's black fur, like drops of crystal on obsidian. His body loses heat, and his muscles lock up. Bracken isn't sure how long he sits by the wolf, but he can feel the presences of the rest of Kendra's family around them, curious but politely giving their respects to a wolf they never knew.

It's as if the wolf's spirit still lingers in the desolate field, wandering and crying out for his son lost in the woods. Bracken can feel it, and to rise from his bow of respect prematurely would be sacrilegious, almost; a dishonor to everything the savior of Kendra had been.

Finally, the spirit departs, and Bracken rises from his kneel, his anger reaching the brim. Someone is going to pay for this. Someone is going to die.

* * *

Cadeliah can feel it, in her fresh new bones. The spark of fire has been lit in their souls, soon to be fanned into a raging flame. They're coming. The one and only are on their way. The end of time has began.

* * *

**Sorry for the long chapter! I really hope it wasn't to confusing! Did I write Bracken well? REVIEW! I can tell that  
people are reading this and not reviewing, and, let me tell you, it's a little frustrating... So, here we go again!**

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	5. Chapter 4

**THANK YOU REVIEWERS! MANY THANKS! I'VE TAKEN ALL REVIEWS INTO PERSPECTIVE, AND HAVE THIS TO SAY: REALLY DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE NEGATIVE! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM HELPS A TON!**

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**Chapter Four**

Seth doesn't get what the big deal is about the wolves. Kendra is weepy, Bracken is furious, Warren is determined but confused, and Vanessa doesn't seem to want to say anything. Grandma is mourning for the wolves that'd saved Kendra, outside and covering blankets over their cold bodies. Grandpa's calling everyone, organizing everything and finding Tanu once more. Last anyone had seen him, he had been investigating an illegal dragon-tear trade.

Honestly? He's kind of freaked out about killing that hunter dude. Sure, there had been plenty of reasons her him to hate the cruel guy, but not so much that he would want to just slit the man's throat! That's just... wrong. Wrong and mean, just plain mean. It's not like there'd been another choice, either; I mean, they could've tried therapy!

But...

Seth isn't so sure that it had been all his fault. The power of the strange object he'd uncovered in the woods had still been coursing through him, causing massive overloads of emotional power, and plus there'd been that other voice and other feelings. As soon as that other thing inside Seth's mind had seen the carnage of the dead wolves, it had gone on fury-meltdown, raging in every one of Seth's senses. The once benevolent and loving spirit had gone mad with grief, thoughts avenging and cruel, driving into Seth through the stone.

_We love you! _the voice had spat, searing his brain with every word. _We love you and we raise you and we care for you and _this_ is what we receive!_

As weenie as it sounds, Seth had been scared of the formerly kind soul. Her emotions had withdrawn as soon as Seth dropped the stone at the edge of the yard, but the shadow of their fury still had pounded in his veins. Bracken knows something about it; Seth can feel the unicorn watching him, out of the corner of his eye.

Seth had gone back and fetched the gem, of course, not telling anyone about the odd stone, not that anyone would care. The presence had been smooth again, not saying a word. He'd actually talked to the stone, but had gotten nothing back. None of his family had noticed, of course. They all seem so stressed about the wolves. Bracken begins to babble about his experiences with wolves, and how it's queer that anyone would hunt them. Blah, blah, blah.

_Be nice,_ scolds his voice.

"Oh, you're back again?" whispers Seth under his breath.

_The gem took to you neatly; I can enter and exit your head as I please. Show respect for the dead, Seth Sorenson; a shadow charmer of all things must show respect. I fear that the world is changing, and now respect is the only thing we will have left…_

Seth ignores the voice and shouts at the top of his lungs, vying for attention above all of the hullaballoo, "ANYONE WANNA HEAR WHAT I FOUND IN THE WOODS?"

Everybody freezes and turns to him, as if that it's surprising he found something in the vast forests surrounding Fablehaven's mansion. Kendra buries her head in both hands, as if Seth's interruption is the most embarrassing thing in the world.

They _had_ told him to inform them as soon as this happened. The reason Seth hadn't run to Kendra's aid as soon as he first heard the gunshot, the reason Seth had been a little more violent than usual as he killed the hunter, and not so emotional as he watched Aladdin the fez-wearing wolf die. The voice had been right; another force had been trying to get his attention, and in the forest, clutching the marvelous jewel to his chest, the Singing Sisters had come for their payment.

Well, they hadn't actually come, but he'd heard their rasping voices in his brain, ordering him to do his quest thingy. Long ago, Seth had promised the Sisters a favor in return for the location of Vasilis. He had offered to take his magical sword and retrieve any magical item of their desire on a dangerous quest.

Seth had just received his information on this quest, and he doesn't like it. Not one bit.

"What is it?" moans Kendra from inside her hands. Seth acts insulted for the show, making an indignant face and sniffing importantly.

"Well, if nobody wants to hear about my quest for the Singing Sisters, I'll just go figure it out myself, then," Seth snorts, turning on heel and storming dramatically, smothering a teasing smile.

"This is just what we need right now," mutters Bracken as a bunch of chair legs scrape across the floor. "A dangerous quest."

"Oh, so you do want to hear about it?" asks Seth, feigning surprise. "I thought you guys were too busy worrying a couple of mutts."

"Cut the theatrics," snaps Kendra, lacing her fingers together. "What do you need to do?"

Seth hesitates. That's the thing; he doesn't know yet. "They're supposed to be sending someone. Like, a guide or something. She's got the specifics. All I know is that I'm supposed to bring them the hides of seven of the world's eternal guardians."

The room is silent. "What did they say, exactly?" inquires Grandpa after a long stretch of quiet.

"'The time has come to repay your debt, Seth Sorenson. We will be sending a girl who also owes us to be your guide through the preserve. When Zia arrives, she will tell you the specifics of your mission. Your task is to bring back the hides of seven of the world's eternal guardians, before time erases them from the universe,'" recites Seth. "Creepy, right?"

"Did they tell you how the guide would be getting here?" asks Warren, using two fingers to hold the curtains out of the view from the window.

"No, actually, they didn't," says Seth with a frown.

"Is it possible that she's coming in a giant bubble?" asks Warren again. "Because if she is, boy, she looks bored."

Seth rushes to the window and pulls the curtains apart all the way. The glass on the bottom level isn't bubbled and distorted like the attic windows, but still clouded and murky. Seth can just make out a freaking _huge_ bubble hovering over a frog fountain, soft luminescence radiating from the orb.

"What should we do?" asks Vanessa with a frown, as the rest of the crew join Seth and Warren by the window. Kendra has a funny gawking expression on her face. "Just stroll out there and pop it?"

"That may be downright, but it may be the best plan of action," agrees Bracken grimly. "The wolves will have to wait; Mendigo or Hugo will find the pup eventually. This is our most pressing issue, without a doubt."

"The wolves will not wait," corrects Kendra, glaring at the unicorn. "Hugo and Mendigo better find that pup!" An uncomfortable silence rules the air, as Bracken takes in that Kendra has just undermined his authority. Bracken narrows his eyes critically, but nods slowly, relenting to Kendra's glare.

"So… walk outside and pop the bubble?" clarifies Seth, breaking the awkward silence. Grandpa nods gravely.

"As much as it pains me to admit this, it might be best if Seth bursts it," sighs Grandpa. "We have no clue if it's been rigged for his touch only; better safe than sorry."

"I agree totally," says Seth somberly, freaking out internally that they're letting him do something important. "We have everything figured out? Yes? Well, let's go!"

Seth rockets to the front door and flies out before anyone can protest. Hissing as he opens it, the door swings shut behind him. The wooden stairs creak loudly as he tramples down. Once he gets a close look at the bubble, and the inside girl, Seth's mouth drops.

"Twenty-four bottles of beer on the wall, twenty-four bottle of beer," sings the bored girl inside with a complete monotone, glaring around at her surroundings unhappily. "Take one down, and pass it around, twenty-three bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Hello," greets Seth cautiously, inching up to the glowing bubble. The girl glares at him, but doesn't answer.

"Twenty-three bottles of beer on the wall, twenty-three bottles of beer. Take one down, and pass it around, twenty-two bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Can you hear me?" questions Seth, taking the tiniest of baby steps up to the orb.

"Twenty-two bottles of beer on the wall, twenty-two bottles of beer. Take one down, and pass it around, twenty-one bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Stop that," snaps Seth, patience wearing thin. And Kendra thinks he's annoying!

"Twenty-one bottles of beer on the wall, twenty-one bottles of beer. Take one down, and pass it around, twenty bottles of beer on the wall!"

Before she can start on the next verse, Seth darts forward and pops the bubble with his index figure. It makes a plopping noise, and the girl falls ungracefully to the ground with a thump.

"Thank you," she hisses, as if that was what she'd been waiting for. The girl has an exotic look about her, with straight black hair hanging choppily around her face, the very ends lightening into a dark, dark grey. Both of her eyes are bright yellow, like the color of those sticky-notes teachers always use. With a beak-like nose and a strange figure, Seth decides she isn't human. Her features might once have been pretty, but they're marred by a huge scar tracing from her left temple to her throat. If Seth had to guess an age, he would've said in her early twenties.

"Well, that took forever, now didn't it?" she huffs indignantly, glaring at everyone. "I went through that song six times before you noticed I was hovering outside your window! SIX TIMES! I mean, I know shadow charmers are slow, but that was a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

Seth blinks. No one else speaks. Her black eyebrows shoot up, and she shakes her head.

"This is just sad," she complains, looking really unimpressed and sultry, like a toddler throwing a fit. "I can understand a unicorn just kind of staring there, but a blix? They're nothing but noise!" Her scowl deepens, and she peers around Seth's shoulder. "Oi! You! Yeah, the satyr! I see you, mister!"

Seth twists to see Verl fading into the woods at the edge of the yard, blushing beet red. "So, you're Zia?" he asks, turning back to see that the girl had moved, one foot on the fountain rim as she looks around, keen yellow eyes searching the area.

"Yuppers," she answers brusquely. "Tell me, any fallen astrids said hi recently? I'm looking for one of them. He has his butt in big trouble…"

Seth frowns. "Ah, no," answers Warren with a confused tone of voice. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything." Zia looks at him sharply, eyes narrowing. They intelligently search him, and then seem smug. "Warren the Knight, am I wrong?"

"Er, I'm Warren, yes. Not sure about the knightliness."

Zia nods to herself, and then she sweeps into an exaggerated bow. "I am Zia, known to many as the Owl Mage. I owed a favor to the Singing Sisters, and they sent me to you. Fire away. I have one simple rule about questions: if it doesn't retain to the quest, I won't answer."

"Alright," says Seth uncertainly. "What are you? You can't be human..."

"Doesn't retain to the quest."

Seth thinks it does, but he tries again, hoping that he can at least be friendly with the cranky visitor. "What favor did you ask for from the Singing Sisters?"

"Doesn't retain to the quest."

Bracken steps forward, his silvery eyes glowing slightly as the sun sinks behind the ridge, draping the world in blackness. "Do you mind if I read your thoughts to confirm your validity?"

Zia's mouth lifts in a smug smirk, and she extends her hands. Bracken walks over to her and takes them, an equally arrogant smile on his face, meeting her mood and emotion, and matching it quickly. His haughty expression quickly turns to frustration and then confusion and finally annoyance.

"Why can't I hear your mind?" he growls as he drops her pale hands. "It's like there's nothing but a slight hum. Like a machine. You're just completely empty, devoid of any thought or emotion."

"I'm not empty," Zia corrects with a yawn. "My mind is just naturally shielded from any prying eyes. Might be a genetic quirk. Might be because of my upbringing. But I can't do anything about it. Sorry, mister unicorn, no snooping today."

"Snooping?" Kendra mutters from besides Grandpa, eyes flashing with irritation. Bracken calms her with a glance. Seth really wants to know what goes on in those soothing looks he gives her, because they work all the time. Oh, or this one! Why is Kendra all grumpy now?

"That's it!" snarls Zia, storming towards the house, shoving Vanessa aside with a bit more force than necessary. "I am answering NO MORE QUESTIONS until I get proper food!"

She marches up the steps, and swings open the door, slamming it behind her. Seth watches her go, making no move to stop her. The girl is strange; there's something in the way she moves, the way she walks that makes Seth uneasy… Zia's patron force is obviously not the light. But, then again, neither is his.

"Should we follow her?" asks Kendra with a frown, peeping in one of the windows. "She's attacking our kitchen. Oh, wait, here she comes again."

The door flies open, and an uncooked fish sails out of the house. It hits a bush with a dejected smack, lost under the plant's leaves, probably for good. "And don't come back!" shouts Zia after it, before returning inside.

"I'm thinking a bit of supervision may be wise," decides Grandpa, hustling to the porch. Seth follows after him. This is totally not what he'd been expecting. Maybe a cool wraith, or a magical spirit, or, hey, maybe even a cool dragon. But a grumpy woman? Seth kind of expected more.

Everything in the kitchen is destroyed. Food lies all over the counters, and white flour hangs in the air. Zia scrabbles through the refrigerator, groaning to herself, tossing a jar of jam preserves out behind her and inadvertently into Warren's face. Warren yelps and grabs the jar inches before it smashes into his nose.

"You're American!" wails Zia, despairing as she moves onto another pantry. "You always have stuff to eat!"

"There's plenty of stuff to eat!" yelps Kendra, spreading her hands around the messy room, biting her lip to contain laughter. "There" – Kendra points at a splash of soup on the floor – "there" – she gestures towards a bag of beans spilling over the countertop – "and there." The last place she gestures to a bunch of jam on the ceiling.

Zia whirls around, and her pupils dilate as she lifts up her prize, a holy bag, a bag that ends wars and begins countries, a bag full of heavenly food that can rewrite the universe.

"Bacon," worships Zia, holding it up in praise, then falling to her knees. "Oh, bacon."

Warren begins to laugh; and he laughs hard. Seth feels himself join in, followed by Kendra and Grandpa, and finally Vanessa. The whole thing is just so stupid it makes him guffaw so hard, he clutches his sides when it begins to hurt, ribbons of pain running up his lungs. Bracken makes the matter worse by cocking his head and saying his odd old-timey voice, "I do not understand."

Kendra falls to the ground cackling, landing in a pile of flour and creating a white mushroom into the air. Bracken looks at her in concern, his eyes confused. "Are you alright?"

That has Seth following suit and collapsing on the ground, shaking with his laughter. He can't even see for the longest time, but eventually, they're all spent and can't laugh any longer. Seth rouses from his fit by the smell of sizzling bacon.

Zia hums to herself as she flips a long piece of the delectable meat into the air like a pancake, catching it excellently and placing it back on the pan. She notices everyone's interest in the cooking food, and moves into a protective stance. "I eat five thousand calories a day, on average. This is all mine."

A few minutes later, everyone's marveling over how quickly Zia can scarf down two pounds of bacon. In a matter of seconds, the entire stack is gone. The table goes quiet as she sucks the grease off her fingers, aside from the murmur of conversation as Grandpa fills Grandma in on what had happened while she had been out examining the wolf bodies.

"So," purrs Zia, lacing her fingers together and leaning forward, casting devious looks around the table, "who's ready to go to Alaska?"

* * *

**Phew, that one took a long time to write! If there are any romantic matchmakers out there, no, Zia is not going to fall in love with Seth. Why? Because she already has a boyfriend. It will hopefully be explained… Anyway, it might be a while until I can update. I'll see you guys again soon, okay? And here comes the annoying part:** **REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you reviewers! I've noticed that the annoying part is at the END of the story, where most people just skip it over. I'm halfway sure people just skip over this, too. But here it comes! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

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**Chapter Five**

The moonlight casts strange shadows upon the midnight grass, forming shapes of demons and nightmares. The stars themselves are afraid to shine, hiding behind a layer of soft grey clouds. Crickets chirp noisily in the dark, filling the elegant gardens with their screeching music, but all silence as a shadow moves over them.

Zia moves forwards, long black cloak trailing behind her, pooling around her legs with every movement. A gift from her lover, the feathery fabric does not catch on the neatly trimmed grass as she passes, and blurs her figure as she slips past the golem standing guard at the edge of the yard. She watches her footsteps and slinks past, not making the slightest sound.

The rocky figure has no clue that she passes him; or maybe he does, and simply dismisses it as normal. Zia doesn't know or care. The woods are drenched in darkness; mortal eyes wouldn't be able to penetrate the shadow's shrouds. But, as Zia takes a deep breath of the fragrant nighttime air, she can see perfectly; a little more than perfectly. Her vision is actually subdued by the increased light of day; it's much too bright for her to make out the crisp details she can admire in the darkness.

The way the moonlight glints off of leaves, the crystalline beauty of water dripping off the end of a barren branch, the scuttling journey of a ladybug across the wide trunk of a tree riddled with trenches in the bark; all of this is only visible in the shadows of the new moon.

Carefully picking her way through the trees, Zia flags out landmarks and easily seeable milestones. Back home in her forest, she needn't have taken all of these precautions, but with new preserves comes new rules. Nonetheless, Zia is confident that she'll be able to find her way back through the shadowy woods without the assistance of weaving paths and trails, though.

On and on, deeper into the darkened forest. The farther she wanders from the grand house, the more thickets and vines twist along the ground. Zia can avoid these with ease, of course; all it takes is centuries of practice to learn to navigate a jungle.

Finally, she reaches a clearing, one with a peculiar well at the top. Using deductive reasoning, Zia decides that, by the structure of the hill the well sits upon and the scent of hearty stew wafting up from the pit of the stone structure, that it's an ogre's home, and someone very crafty enjoys thieving their meals. She steers clear of the circular wishing well, but makes her way to the top of the hill.

Oh, the night air! The twinkle of all of the stars, the brisk breeze whipping underneath the cowl of her cloak! Muttering the magic incantation, Zia watches as the cloak fades into the rest of her clothing, leaving a dark shadow along her back and concealing her fifth and sixth limbs.

Alec had been very kind; when she doesn't need the ominous apparel, it becomes a dark shadow along her back, something normal people wouldn't notice. It shrouds her more secretive parts, not that most humans would see anything more than props.

But that's not what Zia wants.

She extends her feathered wings, allowing them to hiss through the shadow-cloak and snap open in the moonlit air. The feathers are so beautiful; she wouldn't give up the silky black wings glued to her back for the world. For a second, she lets them breath after being cooped up inside her clothing for the longest time, letting the air massage her primaries.

Zia lifts her wings, admiring every feather, her heart in her throat as she preens through the secondaries that'd been bent or ruffled after their long days stuffed inside hot jackets. The glossy feathers are mostly black; that's what you'd think they are, if you saw her standing in the shadows. But take a step into the light, and her wings gleam with shades of green and purple, like a raven's.

After a few experimental flaps, Zia takes a running start and throws herself off the edge of the hill. For half a second, there's the awful sensation of falling, and then her wings unfurl completely, snapping out into their full length.

Zia glides for a few feet before banking swiftly upwards, almost making a right angle. Alec can twist his body up like that; a perfect right angle. With practice, so will Zia.

She rockets into the sky, feeling the air dampen and get cooler as the stars get closer and closer to Zia. She'll touch them one day, and run her fingers through the stardust. But not tonight. Tonight, she's just airing out her feathers before the long plane ride to Alaska, and then onward into a desolate preserve nestled in the snowy mountains.

Pulling out of her rapid upward climb, Zia arches through the sky like an angel, loving the sensation of the wind whipping at her hair and her feathers, tearing at her leather jacket.

So caught up in her jubilance, Zia hears a strangled shriek a few seconds too late, and sees the dark figure descending upon her from above.

One huge talon snatches Zia, holding her tightly and smashing her wings together painfully. The warning screech from below silences, but Zia knows that he's still there, looping through the clouds, waiting for the opportunity to strike at Zia's captor. The leathery skin on the talon scratches against her perfect feathers, bending them and causing them to ruffle in disarray.

Before Zia can fully grasp what's happening, the black force smashes her against a hill, most likely the same one she'd kicked off in. The single talon rams her into the ground, hooked claws digging into the soil like a knife through butter. Giant feathered wings extend sinisterly on either side of a mammoth body, dark and ugly. The light glances off of her feathers, too, except it has more the appearance of disgusting oil. The white face lowers down to admire Zia's frantic struggles, crimson beak clacking in disapproval.

"Hello, mother," spits Zia at the giant black owl. The owl has feathers in a complete black shade, no mottling or blemishes, just an oily appearance. That is, until you reach her round, heart-shaped face; that's a flawless white, unmarred by the years of fierce battles. Her beak is the only way to tell that the owl's been through more than just beauty pageants; it's stained the color of blood after all the lives it's ended. "I see you're looking fine."

"Zia," hums the bird in displeasure, loosening her grip slightly but not releasing her, "what on earth are you doing here?"

"Taking a stroll," she retorts, kicking out and burying her boot into the soft skin in the palm of an owl's talons. Her mother hisses but doesn't release her.

Now, you may be wondering, how does a mega-bird have a humanoid kid with wings? Patience.

"Manners," scolds Tatiana the owl, clicking her beak together. With a swift motion Zia can't really follow, the mother removes her talons from the dirt and retracts from her daughter. Then, with a sight somewhat like a black tornado lasting only a microsecond, the black bird shrinks into the size of a person.

Most of Tatiana's figure is shrouded by her own black cloak drifting around her legs, completely hidden by the folds of pure darkness. Such shadowy cloaks are only forgeable by astrids; and, indeed, Tatiana is an astrid, the only female of her kind in existence. And for a reason…

Zia is half-human, half-astrid. She could go on some weepy backstory about her kind father and how she never saw him again, oh, oh, the drama! But that's not the kind of girl she is, so she settles with snarling angrily at Tatiana.

In symbol of her fallen form's white face, Tatiana always wears a white mask. Smooth and vaguely porcelain, the mask covers half her face, and remains with her no matter what for she deem take. When Zia had been a child, nightmares had plagued her about that mask, and how she never was able to peer underneath the light rims.

Now, Zia understands it hide horrible scars.

"You said the next time you saw me, you'd kill me," taunts Zia, eyes skimming the forest line and judging her chances from escaping the mad astrid. Things are looking slim. "Going soft, mother of mine?"

"Don't tempt me," sneers Tatiana from behind her mask. The cloak and the mask combined conveniently cast a shadow over the lower half of her face that isn't covered, hiding her lips.

"Oh, I think I'm pretty tempting."

That's the last straw. Tatiana's hands dart out from under her cloak, fingertips curling into razor-sharp talons. A birdlike screech leaves her throat, one echoed in turn by Alec, Zia's savior. darting from somewhere behind Zia and attacking Tatiana, clawing savagely at her face.

Oh, Alec, come to save her again! Zia wishes he'd stop doing that, but doesn't waste the distraction.

Tatiana notices Zia's flight before she can even unfurl her wings completely, batting Alec aside with one casual sweep of her barren wing, throwing her cloak behind her to show her grey clothing underneath. Launching herself at her daughter, Tatiana begins to enter a half-owl phase, with beaks and talons, yet six limbs.

Tatiana throws Zia on her back, hands and feet hooked with vicious talons. Tatiana hisses, and then begins to tear at her daughter, going mad at the scent of blood. Alec furiously tries to claw her away, but he can't even stop her rage.

Pain. That's all Zia can feel, eating away at her, devouring her very soul as Tatiana's claws slice deeper and deeper into her chest, knocking Zia to the ground. Pain… pain… _pain_…

And then everything goes black.

* * *

Kendra's eyes snap open. She isn't really sure what had woken her, only that a rush of pure terror flows into her brain when she first sees the attic bedroom wall. Sweat drenches her forehead, and her breathing is haggard.

Oh. She must've been having a nightmare.

Kendra closes her eyes and takes a few shaky breaths, calming herself, curling the blankets up to her face. She hopes she hadn't been screaming in her sleep. She'd been doing that a lot recently, and it's really embarrassing when you wake up in your little brother's arms because you were screaming bloody murder because of a dream.

However hard Kendra may try, she knows she won't get back to sleep if she doesn't walk around for a bit, and take her mind off of nightmares. With a weary sigh, she swings her legs off of the edge of her bed, stretching stiff muscles. Glancing downwards, Kendra checks to make sure that her PJ's are bearable if she runs into anyone at this unholy hour. They don't reveal anything too private, even if the shirt's a little low for Kendra's liking.

As quietly as possible, Kendra opens the attic door and creeps down the stairs, smiling to herself at Seth's sleeping form. Her brother drools when he sleeps. Bracken's probably collapsed on the sofa in the sitting room, might be best to avoid that situation entirely and head for the front part of the house…

The stairs come down right next to the front door. Curled at the base of the stairs is a ball of fuzz, adorably snoring softly in the night with a "whuuu, whuuu" noise. The pup; Aladdin's pup. Hugo had brought Flash-Foot in last night, shivering and terrified. It'd taken him an hour to even talk to anyone, and then he'd been inseparable from Kendra, practically glued at the hip. Flash-Foot wouldn't elaborate much on the hunter; all he had said was, "He's not alone. There are many men like him. Not many like you." The poor little guy had realized that his parents are dead a few minutes before Kendra had gone upstairs for the night, shedding silent tears, pouring down his steel grey face. Apparently, the homeless puppy had cried himself to sleep at the foot of Kendra's story, because he hadn't moved since.

Kendra reaches the bottom of the stairwell, her feet sinking into the cushy carpet. She glances briefly at the door, and sees a face staring back at her. Kendra looks—wait, what? Her eyes snap back to the face in the window. She blinks in surprise.

It's a human face, alright; but just the face. Waxy skin melts into dark feathers and ear tufts, and Kendra recognizes an astrid, peering into her house, with an expression that seems almost desperate.

Kendra hadn't known astrids could appear desperate, at least not while all birdy.

After a moment of hesitation, Kendra decides not to wake up the entire house just yet. Feeling very much like Seth, Kendra creeps up cautiously to the door, and looks through the window. Once he knows he has her attention, the astrid's tortured eyes glide down to something below him, and back up to Kendra. Confused, Kendra glances down at the mass cradled in the astrid's dark claws.

There is no way Kendra can contain her terrified scream.

* * *

Kendra watches, horrified, at the lifeless body in the astrid's talons, torn at like mincemeat. It's easy to recognize the figure as Zia with her choppy black hair, now drenched with blood. Flash-Foot awakens with a loud yelp, rushing to Kendra's side and growling softly, shivering in fear. Kendra tugs at the handle, her mind forgetting for a second how to use a doorknob.

A familiar warm hand closes over her own struggling fingers and twists open the knob. Kendra looks up to see Bracken's usually light face lined with concern as he flings the door open. He looks Zia over, a frown marring his perfect features, and turns to Kendra. "Rouse the others. I do believe Zia has some explaining to do."

Kendra can see why now, her vision previously clouded by the unfocused glass. On Zia's back are two majestic black wings, like an angel. But she's frozen with shock, mouth hanging open, too surprised to do anything productive. Bracken seems to realize this, and shouts up the stairs before kneeling besides Zia. Flash-Foot creeps up to Zia and gives her a tentative lick on the face before retreating to behind Kendra again.

The astrid flutters out of the way, his features pinched together with anxiety as Bracken begins to work. Kendra can see a few slices crossing through his chest, but nothing as severe as Zia's wounds.

Bracken prods a bit at Zia's cuts, where something had gouged deep trenches into her skin repeatedly, and peels open a flap of skin along her forehead to examine a wound. "Alec, go fetch me some bandages, a canteen of water, and some healing salve," Bracken orders, his tone grave. "My first horn may be useful, too."

Kendra blinks in confusion, then realizes he's addressing the astrid. The dark owl-man soars over Kendra's head and through the door, startling Grandpa and petrifying Flash-Foot on his way.

"You know him?" asks Kendra, ashamed by the quaver in her voice.

"_Knew_ him," corrects Bracken. "He and I spoke much in the days before his unforgivable rebellion. I wonder what association he maintains with Zia?"

There he goes again, speaking straight out of the fifteenth century.

"She has wings," stammers Kendra, sounding like an idiot even to her own ears.

"And air sacs," adds Bracken helpfully.

Kendra lets out a shuddering breath. "What is she?"

"That is something I'd like to know, too," comments Grandpa from over Kendra's shoulder, making her jump.

Bracken pauses in his work, fingers freezing over Zia's bleeding flesh, to look up at them. "That is something all of us would like to know."

* * *

Kendra finally gathers around Zia's special bloodstained couch, fists clenched in apprehension. She notices that Bracken sits down beside her, and struggles to keep her reaction casual. Flash-Foot bristles protectively next to her, his bravery increasing with every passing minute. The black astrid peers vigilantly around the circle from his perch on the armrest by Zia's head, dark eyes repeatedly scanning the area like a guard dog.

"Are all of you here and packed?" grunts Zia grouchily. "I don't want to have to tell this story twice, like I did the last one." Kendra winces, remembering Zia's last speech about Seth's quest. Apparently, they had to fly to a remote preserve in the middle of a mountain range in Alaska, one run by the _wolves_ she had met only yesterday, find seven guardians, and slay them. Zia had refused to elaborate on the guardian's identity, and had insisted that they leave the next day. Haste is essential.

"Yes," answers Grandma grimly, her frown deep and disapproving. A strange growl settles in the dark astrid's throat, earning him a smack on the head from Zia. Despite her dire injuries, Zia's been healing remarkably fast, and will most likely be one hundred percent by the time they board the plane to Alaska in three hours. Bracken's baffled.

"Well then, let's begin," laughs Zia cruelly with a smile. She ponders something, face brooding. "Where to start, where to start…"

Then, abruptly, she asks: "Bracken, have you ever heard of Tatiana?"

Bracken blinks in surprise. "Wh—actually, yes, I have," he responds, brow scrunching as he tries to remember something. Noticing everyone else's puzzled expressions, he adds, "Tatiana was the only female astrid created by the Fairy Queen. She was meant to be Gilgarol's partner, the brains for his brawn. But her cunning was too great, and she quickly became contempt with her duties. Tatiana rose in rebellion much before the other astrid's failures, fleeing the fairy kingdom and practically becoming a sorcerer of great and fearful power. Nasty person; I met her once, slinking around one of the old shrines, looking for a weak spot in the Fairy Queen's protections. Rumor has it she can change shape." Flash-Foot shivers besides Kendra, and she rubs in between his cool grey triangular ears.

"She can," sighs Zia, "and my story starts with her. After studying the dark arts from Ronodin, another light creature gone bad" – a shiver passes through Bracken, one Kendra wouldn't have been able to notice if she hadn't been next to him – "Tatiana became absurdly interested in the powers of magical hybrids.

"Hybrids are few and far between, of course; they're the mix of two magical species or genetic lines that never should've touched. However, we have two listening to this story right now. Seth is a combination of human and demon, and Kendra is human and fairy." Suddenly, Kendra feels self-conscious. Bracken shifts besides her, something Kendra tries to convince herself is just chance. Flash-Foot cocks his head, making Kendra want to pick him up and squeeze him like a stuffed animal. "I warn both of you that, if you ever see a black bird circling in the sky over top of you, even vaguely shaped like an owl, _run_. You'd rather die than let yourself become one of Tatiana's pets.

"Tatiana would've adored having one of these hybrids to herself, and what better way to do it than conceive your own soldiers?"

A silence hangs in the room as Kendra connects two-and-two together. Zia looks unwilling to say anything more, but it's not she who continues speaking.

"Tatiana made love with a human, and gave birth to two twin sisters," booms the dark astrid, his deep voice sending shivers through Kendra. "Tatiana received a little more than she bargained for when she gave birth to Zia, though; even as a child, Zia was always throwing fits and disobeying every rule her mother made for her. Of course, so would everyone if their playroom was a dungeon." Kendra winces, imagining a hellish life as a kid, with nothing but dank walls; maybe it had been as terrible as the cells in the Living Mirage, or worse. She couldn't imagine spending any amount of time in those dripping prisons, much less growing up in one! "Once I taught Zia how to fly, back in the good old days, she raced away from that horrid place and never looked back. This did not sit well with her mother, however…"

Sympathy pours through Kendra, vivid and complex. "That's what happened," she whispers to herself. Every pair of eyes snap to her, even Flash-Foot's relaxed blue gaze, and Kendra finds herself at the center of attention. "She was taking her wings out for a stretch," explains Kendra, a little defensive, "when suddenly, Mama swoops in and takes her revenge."

"Kendra describes it more accurately than I ever could have," announces the astrid, unfurling his black and grey wings. He soars over the few feet separating Kendra's armchair from the sofa, gliding elegantly, and hooks one set of talons gently into her shoulder, using his wings to steady himself, mid-air.

Bracken tenses besides Kendra, his muscles going rigid. The astrid takes his claws off her shoulder and unsteadily hovers in air, grabbing her hand with his claws lightly. The nails are cold and smooth against Kendra's skin as he softly uncurls her hand, and places a banana that he's apparently been clutching throughout the entire ordeal in the empty palm. Giving her a serious look, he curls Kendra's fingers back up and around the fruit, pats them twice, and glides back over to Zia's side.

Kendra holds up the banana in confusion. Zia rolls her eyes. "You're so weird."

"Of course," answers the astrid smoothly. "That's why they call me Alec."

Zia swats at his head again, but he ducks underneath her stroke, dark head bobbing slightly. She rolls her eyes once more, and turns back to the gang surrounding her couch.

"As great as this little chitchat has been, we've got a plane to catch!"

Flash-Foot cocks his head again, puppy voice sounding around two years old as he actually speaks in wobbling and accented English. "What's a plane?"

* * *

**Sorry for how long this one's been, and how very confusing when narrated by Zia! Do you like her character? Is she a worthwhile addition to the story? What about Alec? Don't worry, folks, they're going to get going with the quest soon! Just be patient and REVIEW! I CAN'T GET BETTER IF U DONT FRIGGING REVIEW! YOU CAN REVIEW IF YOU HAVE AN ACCOUNT OR IF YOU DON'T!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the time jump, it was just going to be so long if I didn't skip the plane… don't worry, it'll get interesting again. Sorry if there are any random figures, my dog keeps lying down on the keyboard. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW! I AM GETTING NO MORE REVIEWS AND IT'S MAKING ME VERY WORRIED! YOU CAN REVIEW TWICE ON DIFFERENT CHAPTERS!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Bracken studies the mass of humans bustling about in the airport lobby uncomfortably, uneasy with the pure amount of possible threats to the party, and especially Kendra. All of the people bustle about, shoving one another aside for the sakes of their own insignificant causes. Besides his uncertainty about placing Kendra so close to this many potential enemies, Bracken's unicorn side is acting up.

True, this airport is considerably smaller than others Bracken has visited, but that was before Kendra had become such an importance to him, before he had pledged himself to her and only her. Everyone seems perilous now, even though Bracken is certain it's just his imagination; the way that elderly lady gives them an odd look, the way the security guard holds himself, the girl with long blonde hair studying them; especially the girl.

Bracken watches as all of the humans wait besides the belt, plucking their luggage from the parade of belongings as they pass. Well, almost all of the humans; Vanessa and Warren are off picking up the wolf child from customs. Apparently, Zia thinks that they're more likely to find the pup a home at the sanctuary than waiting for an ill-fated sister to arrive, which Bracken secretly agrees with. He notices Kendra pick up a black suitcase plastered with smiley-face stickers, and smiles to himself. Bracken has no luggage; unicorns don't need much besides their horns, and he can exist off of minimal amounts of food for a long period of time. Bracken believes he can live off of nothing for this quest, with maybe a munch here or there.

Kendra drags her bag over and stands beside Bracken, surprising him slightly. It's a good surprise, though; almost like a treat. He mostly just admires her magnificence from afar, anything else is a gift. Up close, Kendra is even more brilliant; Bracken can take in her earthy brown hair better, and the light hazel strands along the top of the her head, near her crooked part line. The way Kendra's emerald green eyes flash sends warmth through every corner of his body, and Bracken can't really help smiling back at her. Even though her cheerful and caring spirit easily outshines her physical appearance and halo of light, Bracken can't help but admire Kendra.

"Hey, you okay over here?" she asks, elbowing him slightly. Bracken can detect the slight aura of concern in her mind as she gets closer to him, and his smile falters.

"Yes, why would you believe otherwise?" Bracken questions, cocking his head and looking down at the bright beacon. Sometimes, Kendra's light makes it difficult to discern her glorious features, but Bracken's well-adjusted after the long hours in the airplanes across the aisle from the light.

Kendra shrugs, rolling her shoulders and making an "I don't know" face that Bracken adores. "You just kinda looked tense, and your eyes were darting everywhere. I'm guessing you've got a problem with crowds, so I decided you needed someone to talk to you and get your mind off of it."

Bracken's grin broadens. "I was experiencing some anxiety with the crowd, yes; thank you, Kendra."

Her lovely face splits into a smile once more. Oh, how Bracken loves that smile! Kendra could change the world with her grin; Bracken swears, once at Zzyxx she had smiled at a demon, and the demon had responded in kind, actually waving to her before a fairy tackled it. When Kendra smiles, her emotions grow even more powerful, and Bracken loves the currents of joy he picks up from her every time she smile. "It's what I'm here for."

She's here for so, so much more, but Bracken doesn't say so. "You two are so OTP it's not even funny," chirps an amused voice from behind him, making Bracken swirl around. He's itching to pull out his horn, in case it's a threat, but he recognizes the figure flipping through a paper magazine on automobiles.

Zia looks up at them, smirk lighting up her usually expressionless face. Kendra cocks her head in confusion. "OTP?"

"One True Pairing," clarifies Zia, swinging her arms around with every word, as if she's conducting an invisible orchestra. "Watch BBC television and you'll have no choice but to know what it means."

"Uh, okay," says Kendra with a frown. Seth grins and waddles over, dragging an enormous duffle bag behind him. Bracken can easily see the sword hilt sticking out of the front pocket, a rather precarious place to keep Vasilis, Sword of Light and Darkness.

"Hello, Seth," greets Bracken, smothering laughter at the sight of the childish shadow charmer. "How are you? I would ask you what you're so excited about, but I have a hunch you're going to tell me anyway."

Seth grins beatifically, smile so broad his eyes scrunch at the edges. "We're here, and I've got a mega-awesome sword to kill all sorts of meanie demons with!" chatters the boy eagerly, a bit too loud for an airport filled with busy people. Even though Seth is now fourteen, his impulsiveness is still exactly the same.

"Shh," scolds Kendra, glancing around nervously.

"Right," agrees Seth, before putting down his bags, cupping his hands and practically shouting, "Hey, everybody! This guy's a unicorn, this one's an owl-girl, this one's a fairy-lady, and I'm a shadow charmer! We're gonna go save the world, with our magical glowing swords!"

No one looks at him twice, amusing and sending unease through Bracken. The increased disbelief in the world is spiraling out of control; at the moment, only select mortals can see reality. What about one hundred years, when all the myths of magical creatures are practically forgotten? What happens then?

"Ha, ha, very funny, Seth," sighs Kendra, cheerful annoyance flashing in her eyes. For a second, Bracken finds himself caught in those pools of beauty; so much life, so much elegance, so much grandeur! It is verbally impossible to describe their swirling splendor, the exact shade of green used to color her expressive irises. Perhaps the color of the green leaves on towering trees as summer sunlight filters through… no, her eyes glitter more. Perhaps a cut emerald, with all sides of the gem sparkling with other shades and tints… no, that's too hard and cold for Kendra. Maybe the bright shade of fresh grass, filling a sunlit meadow… no, much too light for Kendra's eyes.

There are no words that can describe her beauty, Bracken decides, and wrenches himself back to the present, finding that he'd missed part of the conversation in his reverie.

"—can't just go around shouting out things like that," scolds Kendra, her tone no longer playful, scowling at Seth, waving her arms around wildly. "It's reckless, and someday you're going to get everyone killed!"

"But I didn't," points out Seth, shrugging carelessly. "Jeez, Kendra, just let it go!"

"I am not going to let it go, because someday, you're going to do something stupid and have to suffer the consequences!" growls Kendra, drawing the attention of the rest of the adults. Bracken realizes that this is getting out of hand. Gently, he places a tentative palm on her shoulder, causing her to whip around and face him, fire blazing in those wonderful green eyes.

Bracken knows all about sibling battles, unfortunately; being the only male in a family of four sisters had led to many an arguments. "Calm," he reminds her quietly, sending a relaxing wave through her with his hand. Kendra looks up at him, her green eyes filled with uncharacteristic anger. But the ire in her eyes fades and softens as she looks up at him, somehow gaining comfort by simply gazing up at Bracken. Love sparks in his chest, burning at his soul, engulfing every molecule in his body; Bracken has no control of his emotions anymore, something that frightens him marginally.

But the slow smile that creeps across Kendra's rosy face wipes away any doubt he has in himself. Bracken prays it doesn't show on his face.

"Yoo-hoo!" calls Zia, waving a hand in front of Bracken's face erratically and making him blink. "Earth to lovebirds! Your puppy wants you, Kendra."

Kendra turns away with a sad smile and kneels besides a crate that might be too small for a growing wolf pup, but Bracken can feel that she's happy, and that's all he needs.

* * *

Cadeliah rips herself from her Time-Trance, legs shivering with uncontrollably, eyes rolling with panic. Her breath comes out in uneven gasps, wild and unrestrained, as she sinks to her knees. In an instant, her daughter is by her side, comforting Cadeliah with little whispers.

"Shh, shh…" murmurs Fiona, pressing herself comfortingly against Cadeliah's larger body. Fiona is her oldest daughter by far, the only pup to survive from her ill-fated litter. It's a miracle Fiona made it, but the chocolate colored wolf had been a tough child, and now is an even tougher adult. For whatever reason, Fiona stays with old Cadeliah, never leaving her side.

And for that, Cadeliah is eternally grateful.

For the longest time, they sit there together, mother and sister, lying side by side, watching the sunlight darken and snowflakes begin to swirl down from their little crack in the ceiling.

"What did you see this time?" asks Fiona finally, breaking the fragile silence, hesitant yet curious. Cadeliah lets out a heavy sigh, rumbling her vocal chords and looking into her daughter's oddly colored eyes.

"I saw my most recent mate," says Cadeliah quietly, eyes downcast. "He was strong and fit, white fur shimmering with just the slightest glint of gold, with a majestic helmet that the light shines off of like a golden mirror. Except there was something wrong with his face, the way his ears curl. It looked more like my ears, with the slight inward slant. But other than that, it was Brambling, I swear; right down to the strange eyes." Something dawns on Cadeliah, and she shoots to her feet. To get her thoughts running, she begins to pace.

"No, no, no… there's more than that!" insists Cadeliah, talking more to herself than Fiona. "Towards the very end, he lifted a pair of elegant fairy wings… I thought that it was just an indication he is truly dead, because Brambling is very, very dead. But maybe, just maybe, there's more than meets the eye…" Cadeliah focuses on her memories, shutting her eyes to better remember. "The golden helmet was of fairy making, yes? Fairies are renowned for their skills with healing…"

Fiona can see where this is going. Cadeliah can tell by the doubtful position of her ears. "Mum, Brach is lame," she grunts coldly. "There's no changing that. Besides, we've already had him get checked out by everything: unicorns, fairies, shamans; heck, even a veterinarian! It's time to suck it up."

"Fairies, unicorns, healers, and shamans," whispers Cadeliah, stopping her pacing to gaze at her pure white son with the twisted legs and the milky blind eyes and the limp deaf ears, hope flooding her systems and putting a lump in her throat, "but not a _fairykind_."

* * *

Seth loves the noise the limo/helicopter makes as it chops through the sky. The constant whir of the blades is totally cool, but Kendra doesn't seem to appreciate its awesomeness.

All of them can fit in the huge chamber, even if it is kinda squashed. Seth didn't think they could fit the Fablehaven group plus Mara and Tanu into a helicopter meant to fly over huge mountains with avalanches and moose. Even if it's a little cozy, Seth really doesn't think Bracken needs to be that close to Kendra; they're practically on top of each other…

Don't get him wrong, if Kendra's gotta fall in love with anybody, Seth's glad it's with a noble unicorn that probably isn't just there for the, uh, _private romance_, but that doesn't mean he has to be happy about Bracken in the first place. Great guy, or horse, but Seth just rather Kendra remain single.

Kendra would beat him up if she could read his mind.

Seth tries to distract himself with the dramatic scenery: white peaks clawing at the sky, passing not twenty feet from the chopper, sending chunks of snow flying down the hill; the green pine forest, so dense Seth can't see the ground in some areas, remarkably sparse in others; and the massive reflective lakes, with ripples from the helicopter racing across the mirrorlike surface.

And the magical creatures Seth sees make it worthwhile, too. Once, he glimpses a golden phoenix, dancing through the clouds, fading as quickly as it had appeared. Another time, a pack of the big wolves, running in perfect harmony in a diamond formation along the snow, fading into the forest as soon as they reach the protective trees. Flash-Foot whines and paws at the window when the poor little dude catches sight of the pack, as if he wants to be running with them.

Seth isn't really sure what to think of the puppy yet. He's up to Seth's knee, with killer fangs that make a pretty cute smile. The pup is obviously more intelligent than he lets on, something Seth can't really blame. Flash-Foot doesn't speak all that much, even after most of the traumatized stage is past, maybe because his English is rusty. Overall, he seems nice, and willing to do whatever Kendra asks him to do.

Finally, the helicopter begins to slow down, lowering itself onto a little plain in between two gargantuan mountains. Seth peeks out the window, excited, wondering what he may see.

Zia had said that they would be landing just a thousand yards from the gates; he'll probably be able to see them. But Seth can't see anything but the light snow that the chopper throws about, whisking through the air. Disappointed, he goes to his pack and makes sure that everything's safe.

The astrid girl had given them all special backpacks that are a bit bigger on the inside, like the knapsack on a smaller scale; also, she'd said they were much lighter than normal packs. Zia refused to tell where she had gotten the backpacks, making Seth suspicious, but such is life.

Vasilis, check. Two pairs of clothes, check. Toothbrush, check. Extra dagger, check. Fireworks, check. Lots of food, check. Strange glowing and talking jewel, check.

Seth really isn't sure why he'd stuck the humongous gem in the bag; it just seems like the right thing to take to a creepy preserve. His impatience accelerates as the helicopter this the ground with a jarring thud, the blades gradually spinning slower and slower. He jumps up, probably before he's supposed to, and steadies himself uneasily.

A couple of hours in a rocking helicopter is bound to give him some dizziness. Seth shrugs it off, and darts for the door, eager to see outside.

Zia beats him to the hatch, opening the door with a four-digit code. With a metallic click and a hiss, the door pops slightly and allows a cool breeze to whip through the room, but Zia still blocks the exit, turning around to face the packing adults. These people need to pick up the pace, thinks Seth.

"Is everyone wearing their parka and hats and mittens and crap?" Zia bellows over the murmur of conversation that had started. Seth is keenly aware of Bracken helping Kendra with her bags. A couple of, "Uh-huhs" and, "Yeahs" ring around the cabin, while Seth yelps, "Yes, we're all ready!"

"Slow down, kid," chuckles Zia, and then, addressing the whole group, "It'll get noticeably warmer inside the preserve and we reach the Evertree Forest, which hopefully we'll be safe in my nightfall. Just stay together and let me know if you see anything!" More "Yups" and one "Let's go!"

Zia unbolts the door, and steps out of the helicopter

The whiteness hurts Seth's eyes, making him squint against the light. A rush of cold air accompanies the door's opening, biting at Seth's exposed cheeks. Originally, he'd thought that the parkas were stupid and chunky, very odd for going on dangerous quests with. But now, with all of the chill in the air, nipping at his nose and scratching at his ears, he can easily see the logic behind the thick coats, and becomes thankful for his very quickly. Flash-Foot chucks himself out the hatch and sinks up to his ears. Seth bundles up more before stepping out onto the snow.

He hops out of the helicopter, dropping a solid three feet before he hits the ground. Once he does hit the ground, Seth sinks up to his knees in cold, wet snow. Flash-Foot struggles through the snow banks, two ears shoving through the powder like one of those old cartoons. Zia's tugging on a pair of snowshoes from a nearby rack, making a sour face as she does the complicated straps crisscrossing her shoes.

Seth trudges forward to the snowshoes, but then realizes his entire purpose of coming out so early. How could've he forgotten?

Turning through the thick snow, Seth gets his first image of the gates.

He reminds himself to breathe.

Two towering statues of wolves, both around thirty feet tall, sit twenty yards from each other. They're both carved out of some greyish stone, maybe marble, with exquisite details Seth can appreciate from even this distance. The air between the two figures seems to shimmer uncertainly with shades of blue and purple, like the ones caught in Seth's stone. Directly in the center of the statues is a small monument, probably only up to Seth's waist.

Seth gasps, and points with one finger. "Oh, wow!"

"The wolves are some of the best artists in the world," agrees Zia. "Those took them months to carve; each individual strand of hair was treated with loving care, like a mother and her child. The magic woven into the stone took even longer; I'm not even sure how long. They were working on this preserve for years before it actually became useable. It's just one example of the never-ceasing patience of the wolves."

"My mum used to carve," adds Flash-Foot, little kid voice muffled by the layers of snow he keeps sinking under. "It was good."

"Wow," repeats Seth, and, at that moment, Bracken hops out of the chopper. The unicorn helps Kendra out of the helicopter before joining Seth in gawking at the massive sculptures.

"True works of art," he admires softly, bluish eyes amazed.

"I bet you can bungee-jump off those!" chatters Seth excitably.

Zia laughs, a short and strangled sound. "I've always just flown in through the gate at the very top and dived inside. This will be a new experience for me, too; actually walking through the gates! It sounds boring! You don't have to come along, Alec."

Bam! Just like that, the astrid is perched on her shoulder. Zia chuckles, a whole sound this time. "Fine, be my guest!"

"Alright people!" shouts Zia, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Let's go!"

* * *

**REVIEW PLEASE! I might not update again for a while, I'm going on vay-cay, but I would really like for you to follow or review! PLEASE! Wolfluvermh, out! **


	8. Chapter 7

**THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. READ THIS BEFORE YOU CONTINUE. ****Alright, so I added another character into the book, edited it and stuff, and he's pretty important to the storyline. Remember the puppy that Kendra swore to protect? With a little help from a very useful review, I rewrote some parts of the last three chapters. Just skim those and do us both a favor, okay? Thanks! So sorry!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven **

Kendra stares up at the massive sculptures in awe, craning her neck so she can look all the way to the top of the stone wolves. They're sitting down on large circular pedestals, heads bowed and eyes downcast, with their carefully carved ears tucked neatly back. A huge granite tail curls around intricate paws, and their ruffs stand in a majestic mane of fur. Their muzzles are practically lying across their thick-furred chests, with eyes only opened to slits. Underneath the stone eyelids are the smallest crescents of divine blue opal, catching the light beautifully.

Warren whistles. "Someone put way too much work into this."

Kendra doesn't think so, she thinks that someone loved to create art, but she decides not to argue. Instead, she squints at the figures carved into the pedestals of the stone guardians. It looks almost like obscure writing, like a drunkard's version of elegant, swirling cursive. "Is that… writing?"

"Yes," answers Flash-Foot, suddenly materializing besides Kendra and making her jump. "It's in Wolfen, which is somewhat similar to the secret fairy language. You see, wolves have two primary languages that they must be taught before a certain age; Wolfen and Wolfish. Wolfish is a tongue of clarity, meaning that all species hear their own language when a wolf speaks, even if they can't understand the person. I'm speaking to you in Wolfish right now. Wolfen is actually" – Flash-Foot makes a rumbling noise like a series of thunderclaps – "in its own language, but 'Wolfen' is a close enough translation."

Kendra blinks in astonishment. That is the longest speech the pup had ever uttered before, proof that he's growing braver and less shy among the group. His words impact Kendra; these wolves, there's so much about them that's unknown, so much Zia and Flash-Foot are keeping tight, lips locked and minds vacant…

"Flash-Foot?" asks Bracken softly, tilting his head to the side. The little grey puppy looks up at him with electric blue eyes. "When we get into the preserve, before we get some shut-eye, can you tell us some of the fabled wolf legends? I have heard a few, but that was from a long time ago…"

Excitement shines in the pup's eyes. His tail begins to wag. "Yes, yes! I did love the way my aunt would tell the stories… it was like the smoke bent to her will…"

"Yes, yes, very impressive," interrupts Zia distractedly, her yellow eyes scanning the horizon. "We're about to have company."

Kendra looks over through the line of shimmering air between the two statues, past the vast tundra of barren ice, and to the distant line of green trees, and sees the line of wolves converging mightily from the woods and dashing over the ice. They move with such quickness it takes her breath away; even from nearly a mile away, Kendra can see the snow they throw behind them with every long stride. The trail of powder stretching behind them fans out like a pair of silky white wings.

"Oh, my," breathes Mara, her pupils dilating. The Native American lady says nothing more, but her face is clearly awed, while Seth's breaks out into a huge smile.

"Cool!" he exclaims, upturned eyebrows raised impishly. Vasilis is strapped to his belt, leather hilt glinting in the white sunlight reflected from the blankets of snow. The helicopter had already taken off, leaving a swirling pattern in the terrain, matched by the undignified trudging trails made by the party as they slushed through the snow.

"I wasn't talking about them," says Zia grimly. She points to something in the sky, something that makes Kendra quiver with fear for the magnificent wolves bounding over the plain. A sleek black jet cuts through the clouds, visible for less than a few seconds, before disappearing behind another mountain.

"So clever," whispers Flash-Foot sadly. "So very, very clever."

Bracken's eyes widen with comprehension, a gasp leaving his lips. "No…" Kendra frowns in confusion.

"Yes," growls Zia, her voice rough and jagged. "The jet's positioned itself so the wolves can't see it from where they're coming from. As long as the wolves stay on that side of the border, they're safe. However, my guts tell me that it's a neighborhood welcoming party, and they're going to prance right over the boundary line without fear. We can't warn them; sound doesn't get through the borders. As soon as they pass through the gate, the wolves are going to get slaughtered."

The pure repulsiveness of the thought of her kindred humans just killing every wolf in that pack makes Kendra nauseous. There's no way that will happen! "What… what do we do?"

"Get out of their way," growls Flash-Foot grimly, before sprinting with long strides over to the side, leaving a clear target for the hunters. Zia nods, and begins ushering everyone aside to where the pup had fled, nudging and shoving all those stragglers. Mara and Warren obey without question, even though Warren has to drag Vanessa behind him. Tanu fights her gentle nudges, and Bracken just locks his legs and refuses to move another inch.

"There must be some other way!" insists the noble unicorn, determined desperation that makes Kendra's heart squeeze woven into every word. "We can not possibly let them die!"

"Only half will perish; the rest will run away. Don't worry."

"That's a dozen wolves that can be saved!" trumpets Bracken, his eyes flashing. Kendra wants to stand with him, at his shoulder, but knows it's pointless and will only get the two of them killed. The last thing Kendra wants is for Bracken to be harmed.

"How is it," drawls the astrid, ancient sadness creeping into his voice, mixing with his more modern speech, "that the pup is less dense that you? Geez, Bracken, it's nothing compared to what's happening in Russia at this very moment."

That catches Kendra's attention. "Wait, what's happening in Russia?"

The bird shrugs, rolling his wings. "The Phillips Cooperation managed to fight through the magical boundaries protecting one of the last strongholds up there. It's a massacre; they brought dozens of assassins and bounty hunters, and placed a hefty price on each of their heads. Tons of wolves are dying, probably close to three thousand have already perished, and nobody knows how many lives will be claimed before the battle finally ends. Even the pups are slaughtered; it's anything but humane."

Kendra's legs shake. "No," denies Vanessa. "Mankind is cruel, but not that cruel…"

The astrid's head swivels around to look at her. "Oops, we're too late to chitchat! Run, all you idiots!"

Kendra doesn't understand what the strange owl means until the first wolf bursts through the glittering gate, passing through it as Kendra may push aside some drapes. He's quickly followed by another, and then another, and then another, until almost all the wolves are across the border and a distance from the boundary line. Kendra freezes. She wants to tell them to run, to go back to wherever they came from, but can't manage to move her muscles.

The jet slices through the clouds like a black letter-opener, two machine guns on either side of the cockpit whirring to life. Kendra chokes back a cry as the first wolf gets hit by a bullet, going down with a pained howl and a spritz of red, easily visible on the white snow.

The perfectly organized pack dissolves into chaos, and the flawless scenery of the towering gates becomes a living hell.

* * *

Kendra drifts between the bodies of wolves, some still shallowly breathing. Silent tears roll down her cheeks. Whenever she sees one of the corpses with its eyes still wide, she kneels down and closes them, not caring about catching a disease or anything stupid like that.

Kendra's been to Zzyzx. She's experienced life in a dank prison cell. She knows what it's like to see friends swallowed whole by gargantuan dragons.

And yet Kendra's never seen anything so thoughtlessly heartless as that.

There'd been a pregnant female and a yearling in the pack, both lying on the snow, the swirling flakes beginning to fall coating their bodies in white blankets. Many of the wolves had thrown themselves in from of pack-mates, yelping as they were struck for their kin to flee.

To make matters worse, the jet had descended after the massacre, right in the place where the helicopter had landed. Most of the rest of the group is over there, speaking with an important looking man in a suit. All but one.

Kendra can feel Bracken's eyes on her as she navigates through the labyrinth of carcasses, gauging her reactions with those beautiful pupils that hide so much pain and so many secrets. So she keeps her shoulders back and her head high as she moves through the dead, trying to keep herself from sobbing aloud. She can't stop the tears, of course.

Thirty-four wolves had crossed the border to greet them. Not one had made it back into home territory.

Ah, there's another one with opened eyes. A shiver passes through her bones at the unseeing eyes pierce into her. Kendra kneels around her bulky parka, gently stroking his hair out of his eyes, before shutting them respectfully. At least, she assumes it's a guy. Kendra doesn't know how to decide one gender from another.

When Kendra rises, a voice from behind her in the silence startles her, sending a shock through her shaking bones. "Are you okay?" questions Bracken quietly, moving up beside her and putting a comforting arm around her waist. Kendra tries to keep her heartbeat under control.

She burned her head into his chest, wrapping both arms around Bracken's warm torso. "No," Kendra whispers into him. "No, I'm not."

* * *

Seth storms up to the fancy jet, anger flaring. He would've thought the plane was awesome if the situation hadn't been so dire. Actually, he still thinks it's cool. Seth's determined not to slit anyone's throat this time, but he's just as angry as he'd been with Ryan, the hunter bloke. Vasilis gleams in his hands, burning and crackling, casting out a fierce red glare over the ice.

With a cool hiss, the stairs break away from the hull of the glossy black jet, landing in the snow with a thud. A man in a black tux struts down, his greying hair styled with an atrocious comb over to cover his bald and warty head. The man's feet clink on the metal stairway. Seth scowls at his business-y features, with a golden pocket watch string trailing from his pant-pockets. This guy just oozes prissy.

"How are you lovely folks today?" greets the old man with a heavy, almost irritating, southern accent. Flash-Foot growls from besides Seth, blue eyes narrowed to deadly slits. The man stares at the pup and frowns, as if just noticing the little dude. "Did we miss one? My apologies."

Seth moves over the snarling little mass of fur. "No, you did not," snaps Vanessa, her red lipstick slightly marred by the cold wind. "You owe us an explanation, however."

The old man really looks confused now, bushy eyebrows scrunching together. He doesn't step off of the steps, probably because he's too afraid he'll get water all over his shiny black business shoes. "What for?"

"Why the heck did you kill those animals back there?" hisses Mara. The beautiful woman is usually quiet and detached; she doesn't normally utter statements _that_ long, even. Seth stares at her in surprise.

"Ah," realizes the old guy, vicious smile stretching over his lips and revealing yellowing teeth. Seth's never seen an old guy smile, besides Grandpa, and he isn't sure he ever wants to again. "You're new at this."

"Yes, we are," agrees Warren with his normal lightly-issued threats. "So clear some things up, really fast, bub. From our experiences, wolves are good guys."

"Hello, friends," says the old guy, starting from scratch. "My name is Alexander Phillips, current CEO of the Phillips Corporation" Seth's skin crawls at the mention of the cooperation that's apparently behind all of this. "At the Phillips Corporation, we strive to bring out the best in mankind and test our limits! You see, ever since the beginning, wolves have been influencing humans, peeking over our shoulders, altering history and playing god. We're sick of this behavior, and the world would be better off without any canine scum to make our beautiful world filthy." Zia scowls, as if this offends her.

"Humans are the ones dumping toxins and pesticides and pollution into the environment, not wolves!" she growls. Alexander Phillips pleasantly ignores her.

"Centuries and centuries ago, my namesake, the first Alexander Phillips, was offered the soul of the beasts. The wolves were so stupid as to give up their very being to him, and all the strength of the mighty wolves flowed through him, extracted from the savage creatures. In their hurry to get their spirit back, one of the wolves attacked Phillips, and killed his wife and family in the process. Ever since that day, every son of Phillips has sworn to rid the earth of the evil canines! And at long last, we have almost completed! No longer do they bother the Fairy Queen! No longer do they howl at night! No longer to they dance on graves without a care!"

"You sound like you're from a commercial," scolds Seth, shifting into a more comfortable stance that Bracken had taught him a while back. "An ad for delusional fruitcakes."

Alexander's eyes sweep to Seth, and anger lights there. "Seth Sorenson. I am not totally convinced of your loyalty to your species; if I remember correctly, it was you who murdered Ryan, our best hunter, in cold blood."

Seth winces. "That's a low blow, dude."

Zia steps forward. "Go, Alexander," she orders, yellow eyes blazing. Alec the Astrid flaps down from nowhere and sits on her shoulder, his dark pupils boring into Alexander's. "Or we'll rip you up."

Alexander smirks. "I'll go in my own time. You're a child of Cadeliah; you wouldn't hurt a fly."

Zia grins evilly and moves into a lithe crouch. "I was taught by Cadeliah, yes; her love is the reason I'm still here. But I was raised by _Tatiana_. Wanna bet your life on my docile behavior, Alex?"

Apparently, Alexander is not willing to bet his life on his odds. His calm demeanor flickers for a moment, and then fades away completely. "Fine," he snaps nervously. "But know this, little bird-girl: the next sanctuary to fall _will_ be this one, and you will _not_ be able to save all of your precious little puppies." Alexander struts up the stairs, turning his back, and they shut behind him. The jet's engines purr, and the old man's gone before Seth can fit in another word.

"What—" Seth begins, but Zia cuts him off.

"I'll tell you when we get to the gates."

* * *

"Well, we're at the gates," announces Seth, watching Zia, interested in hearing her story. The astrid lets out a feathery sigh from her shoulders, and takes off, arching through the grey clouds like a dark shadow. "Who was that guy, why did he kill the wolves, and why are we here?"

"I meant the gates to Evertree," says Zia evasively. "But I'll tell you about Alexander Phillips. The Phillips family has been very delusional, as you noticed, with an odd fascination in the extermination of wolves. I will have you know that wolves are the eternal protectors of the world, from both alien threats and earthly, and they are the most pure and innocent and loving beings you'll ever meet, unicorns included," Zia says with a meaningful glance to Bracken.

"In their glory days," she continues, "wolves were brilliant creatures, the size of two horses and an ox all squished together, with the biggest hearts of all species. They were the saviors of beings, and the superheroes of the world. The wolves believed in honor and dignity, and respected all things, even the scraggiest of creature. _Love everyone, protect everything, and forgive all_ was their motive, and they lived in complete harmony with the other creatures, with a King and a Queen and a Soul Bearer; more on that later.

"Anyway, so, this group of weirdoes with enormous amounts of cash decides three thousand years ago to eliminate every last wolf from the face of the planet. The wolves did not fight back initially, and that was their downfall, because the men found a way to lessen their power. When Alexander said he stole their soul, that's literally what he did; he stole their very soul. Now, we've gotta go."

Seth joins in with the confused blinking and cocking of heads. "Wha-?" asks Kendra, but Bracken squeezes her hand and shuts her up efficiently with a mushy-gushy glance. Zia ignores her and crouches before the small stone in between the two wolf statues, the one that's only a few feet from the magical barrier. It glows like moonstone with a small, round dent in the front that shimmers like abalone, sending prickles of awe down Seth's back.

Zia presses her hand into a pearly section of the stone towards the top, and purple script appears across the stone in the same cursive-y writing on the statues, along with a song of four notes sang with a floaty female voice.

"Okay," she whispers to herself. "Caelum Amplexu; that's Latin for Embrace the Heavens. Funny name for a preserve, but whatever. This says that all who are lost will be found, all who are sick will be mended, and all who are homeless will be sheltered, so on, so on. Brilliant. Which means that…"

"What?" asks Tanu, frowning. Seth realizes that she's not speaking in English, but some garbling and ugly language, so the others can't understand her. That sends a spark of importance into Seth's gut. "She's talking to herself, trying to figure it out," he mutters out of the corner of his mouth. Nods ring around the group, even Kendra.

"Got it!" exclaims Zia, jumping to her feet. As soon as she removes her hand from the pearly concave, the writing across the surface of the stone vanishes. Zia then proceeds to make a sound like the melody of a flute being played, somehow contorting her mouth to find the perfect notes, combined with the whistling tune of wind rattling through an orchard of willow trees. Seth blinks, but doesn't interrupt the eerie harmony.

The shimmer in the air shudders, and begins to fall apart. Well, not fall apart; but, like, if it were a waterfall, the water would cleave aside and make a little passageways. Two layers of the magic peel away from each other, creating an upside-down V-shaped tunnel as the strange music comes to an end.

"I didn't know you could speak Wolfen," says Flash-Foot cheerfully, practically skipping between the gap in the shimmer. "That's neat."

He's gone almost instantly, hidden behind the drapes of magic. Seth turns to Zia. "What was that?" he demands.

"There isn't a direct translation, but it was a wolf lullaby that goes something like this: Oh rest your sweet head, child, and may your dreams be protected by those in the stars! Fly away with your dreams, and find me there! Oh I wait for you in the sky, as the long years go on! But if you should never join me in my dance, I will have to move on, I will have to move on." There's no tune to her voice, just flat monotone, so it makes the song sound weird. "Of course, it rhymes and stuff in the original version."

"What does this say?" asks Kendra, kneeling by one of the massive statues and inspecting the words inscribed on the pedestal. "Something like that, or something else?"

"'May all those who are lost be found within our borders, may all those sick find strength and healing, and may all those without a home be sheltered for now and forever.'"

"Wow," murmurs Kendra, standing up again. "Shall we go?"

"I think we should," agrees Zia, starting out, her snowshoes keeping her elevated over the layers of snow. Seth feels the tiniest bit guilty about just leaving the bodies of the poor wolves out to the elements, even if Zia says that only the families and close friends of the dead creatures should touch the bodies now. It feels wrong, to leave them all alone, left in the cold, abandoned, lonely, and unloved. But, after a long look, Seth follows the crowd numbly filing through the gap.

That's when the wind starts up.

* * *

Kendra fights against the gales, struggling forward with every ounce of strength she has left in her bones. The massacre had put the party behind schedule, and, if she wants to reach the safety of the woods by nightfall, when everything gets scary, Kendra has to move quicker than her current trudging pace. The protection of the massive plain isn't something easily seen; when Kendra has watched the snow swirl around, she had thought there were gentle breezes blowing through the barren landscape.

They aren't breezes, they're powerful, hungry winds, with the strength of tens of thousands of bulls dragging her backwards, smacking her in the face, and bringing tears to her eyes.

Kendra feels a hand on her back, helping her forward with a gentle nudge. Bracken. Oh, thank god for Bracken! Without the soft touch and infinite patience of the Fairy Prince, Kendra would be far behind the rest of the group by now; well, further than she already is. Using his hand as leverage as she had so many times before, Kendra pushes forward another few feet, earning her a pulse of praise from Bracken's mind. Eager to please him, she struggles forward another few yards in two minutes what normally would've taken five. Bracken's childish pride burns through her.

The funny thing is, you don't even notice that the wind is here just by sight alone. A glance around the valley reveals sparkling white snow, glittering with sunlight, with a line of trees in the distance. But use your other senses, and bam! Wind howls in your ears, blocking out any other noise, gales blister your skin and push you backwards, and the cold makes you go numb.

Suddenly, a shadow passes over Kendra, a shadow of a man, except with two bird wings. Fear trills through Kendra; it isn't the first time something has creeper up on her. Glancing up, she sees an angel-like figure soaring high above her, navigating the currents with skill. With a gasp that wastes precious breath, Kendra recognizes the dappled grey wings of Alec, the quiet rebelled astrid.

"He's—" she stammers, then cuts off, remembering Bracken can't hear her over the drone of the wind. Zia's voice rings around in Kendra's brain, shocking after the lack of any noise but the wind.

_For those of you that have noticed Alec, yes, he is able to switch back and forth between birdy and angel-thing; that was the favor I asked of the Singing Sisters. Don't pester him about it, please. He's here to pick us up, one by one, and drop us off at the boundary line. It'll take a while, because he needs to rest in between passengers, but it'll be a lot quicker than this. Alec, how about you pick up Kendra first, since she's so far behind? _

Kendra would love to protest, but she doesn't know how to answer with her mind. A pair of hands grabs her underneath her arms a second later, and wrench her upwards with an uncomfortable jolt. Kendra hears Bracken yelp over the storm with surprise, but that's all. The wind is worse at first, causing her entire body to flail around meaninglessly, until Alec soars up to cloud level. If she hadn't been so scared of falling and so awkwardly dangling, Kendra would've loved the view of the afternoon sun sparkling over the miles of snow.

"I won't drop you," chuckles Alec, as if he can read her mind, which he might be able to do... "I might do some daring tricks, but I won't drop you, I swear; if I did, I would have to face Bracken's anger. I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge." Kendra laughs breathily.

"He would chew you out, that's for sure," she consents, surprised by Alec's easy conversation. He's not even flapping, per se; just gliding through the clouds, arching with wide dark wings, floating along. She wonders what his non-Astrid face looks like, but can't exactly turn and look. Kendra watches as the line of endless forest grows nearer, and as the tiny dots of her party fade behind her. From this height, she can even see the distant shapes of the statues, looming on the horizon.

"It's pretty up here, isn't it?" remarks Alec randomly, banking through the clouds lit by golden light. "You can see forever from up in the sky. I have no clue why you mortals stay on the ground…"

"Well," laughs Kendra nervously, "most people can't switch between being a bird and a person."

"True," relents Alec, swerving close to a cloud, the very tip of his wing dragging through the puffy substance. "But you humans are very ingenious; you always think of something…"

They don't speak again. Finally, the woods tumble around below her, a mass of bristles and leaves and waist-high thornbushes, and Alec lowers her to the ground, gently setting her down on a tall stone at the edge of the woods. "Don't go any deeper," he lectures sternly, "and don't wander away. This forest is very easy to get lost in…"

"Alright," agrees Kendra, "I won't." She has no plans to be stumbling around in a forest endlessly for miles on end; not while Bracken and Seth are still caught in the gusty plain.

And so the Astrid reaches out his great grey-and-black wings, giving Kendra one last warning look before taking to the sky, gracefully arching among the clouds like a dark angel.

* * *

**sorry for the long chapter! I pray it wasn't too confusing… please review and let me know how I did! Constructive criticism is good for me, folks!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Right, I'm not sure when I'm going to have time to upload this, but here's my most recent creation! Please review! I've got over two hundred views on this story and seven reviews. That's just the tiniest bit pathetic. Let me know how I'm doing! Things will be explained in this chapter, never fear…**

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**Chapter Eight**

Alec eases lower to the ground, making Bracken's stomach plummet. Strictly an animal of the ground, Bracken like every unicorn hates… well, not so much heights, but flying. It sends shudders through him.

Alec sets Bracken on his feet, the astrid careful not to unbalance him or give him the slightest bit of unsteadiness. Bracken must admit, the stagnant air after such a long period of time enduring the fierce gales feels odd, and strangely peaceful. He takes a cautious step forward, and then another, and another.

Instincts pop in, and Bracken scans the loose crowd of people that'd been lifted from the plains. Only Zia and Tanu remain in the barren wind, struggling onward not a quarter of a mile from the pile of boulders Bracken had been set on. Warren talks to the blix with a low voice, eyes searching her face, at the foot of the stones, obviously hoping for a bit of privacy. Mara and Seth sit in silence at the peak, sharing the small space cresting the stacks of rocks. But none of them really are what Bracken's looking for; his heart leaps into his throat until he spots her, following the brightness to its source, tucked away from observable view.

Kendra sits at the base of a gnarled old tree with sparse reddish leaves, reclining in the bed of wrangling roots. Her feet hang over the edge of her little nook in the cliffside made from the biggest boulder. The pup naps on her lap, his flanks moving up and down, a light snoring sound escaping his lips with every descend. The little resting place reminds Bracken of Kendra a bit: a little strange and hard to reach, but resilient and tough. And yet still life and beauty grows, maybe odd to others, but attracting to Bracken. Kendra looks up at him from her narrow crevice and smiles, her eyes softening and a blush coloring her already rosy cheeks scarlet. But then she looks back to the child in her lap, and continues stroking his stiff grey fur.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Bracken jogs up to Mara and Seth. True, Mara is even quieter than some unicorns, and Seth can out-chat a satyr, but he much prefers the company they provide than Vanessa's spiteful presence.

Even though he answers and replies to Seth's constant bombardment of questions and statements, his mind is elsewhere. Bracken flies away mentally to Kendra's little ledge, the fairykind girl who gleams like the sun, who pretends to be fine and strong for those around her, with a little pup curled up onto her lap, wishing all of her problems away and enduring anything the world throws at her for the sake of others.

But Bracken's not sure if Kendra's really all that interested in living anymore.

And it scares him.

It scares him a lot.

* * *

The firelight sends an orange cast into the surrounding woods, flickering with every crackle of the dancing flames. Kendra had been uneasy about lighting a fire, but Zia had assured her that it's a way the wolves keep tabs on their visitors. Actually, Zia had said that the wolves are in the woods right now, lurking in the trees, guarding them from afar.

That sends shivers up her spine; and not the good kind. She peers around at the looming woods once more, but can't see a thing. The boulders will give them an advantage if they're attacked, though, and either Alec or Zia's on guard at any time. Right as Kendra thinks that, Zia passes over the moon, her figure shadowing on the ground and then lost into the sky.

Alec crouches on one of the tents, his dark owl-eyes reflecting the orange glow from the sparking fire. He's watching the embers as they circle up into the heavens, like little lanterns, before they snuff out and are lost in the black abyss of the stars. It's hard to imagine him as the lithe man that came and go carrying passengers over the frozen plains so many times when he's like this, all quiet and mysterious, watching something with a sad sort of look on his astrid face.

Finally, Flash-Foot speaks, making Kendra jump. "Bracken, do you still want to hear those stories?"

Bracken smiles warmly at the little pup in an almost _fatherly_ sort of way. "I would love it," he says serenely, at complete ease with the darkness and the spooky woods. Then again, Kendra's "light" can probably illuminate most of the darkness for him; for her, it's just a slight glow in a ten-foot radius.

"Right," whispers the pup to himself. "I figure we have enough time for two stories before Zia's watch ends and she has to talk to you guys about the wolves and stuff, but the problem is which two? Definitely the Soul-Bearer of Time, but what about the other one? Angel's light? No, too depressing. Guria's journey? Nah, a little too fluffy. Ah, I know. The Beginning."

Seth cocks his head in confusion from across the flame. Campfires have lost a bit of their dramatic effect to Kendra because she can see without the light beamed from the flame, but Seth has a childish delight with this one that makes her smile. "Huh?"

"Right," decides Flash-Foot, ignoring Seth's confusion. "Whatdaya wanna hear first? The Beginning tale? Or the Soul-Bearer of Time?"

"Beginning tale," picks Bracken, as if he knows about these strange names. "That one was a very commonly told story, and one of my favorites."

Flash-Foot nods, and his voice goes down an octave when he speaks again, meaning that he's switched to the language of Wolfish or whatever it had been. "Many years have passed since creation; seasons have changed, and the moon has phased. Empires have conquered and fallen. But one thing remains the same: the wolves.

"Long ago, a great mother ruled over our land. She wasn't from our world. In fact, she was from a place where gods created worlds for sport! But this one placed unusual effort into her universe, and created the first earth, centuries ago. She made everything in our land with careful care; many do not appreciate the skill she must've placed into the trot of a moose or the thermals and currents that the falcons ride on. The goddess did, and she loved every one of her creations.

"However, the female was smart. In order to keep all of her dragons and fairies and angels and humans all in line and together, the queen created a race of super-soldiers, the supreme species, the ones that love both life and justice: the Great Wolves, our official name." Flash-Foot pauses, pondering this.

"The way Auntie told it probably won't fit with our current audience, so I'll bend some things and make adjustments. To rule over the wolves on the ground, the queen made godlike wolves; one, with silver fur, draws her power from the moon, and with her cunning and intelligence, she easily dominated all other species. The other, huge and black as night yet speckled with white dapples, is the wolf of the stars; although somewhat coarse at first, she loves everything as if they are her own children, and is easily the more likeable god.

"They watch over each wolf, representing our nature: kind and loving, from the Star Wolf; cunning and intelligent, from the Moon Wolf; distant and cruel, the Moon Wolf; and finally, protective and loyal, from the Star Wolf.

"Each wolf follows a path: kind and protective, or cruel and cunning. Of course, a fair number of wolves merge the two Wolves and create their own combination, but it's the goal of all wolves.

"That's the reason every wolf protects the balance of life and death, of light and dark, of predator and prey: we didn't just step up to the plate, like the Fairy Queen or the Angel Mother before her, we were born for this duty. We are the guardians of the world."

Kendra feels like she's been slapped in the face. She resists the urge to barf all over the ground. The story makes a bit of sense, and she's okay with accepting the wolves' reasons for being the heroes and such. But the last sentence…

_We are the guardians of the world._

_Your task is to bring back the hides of seven of the world's eternal guardians. _

The wolves. Oh. God. _The wolves_.

Everyone stares at Kendra as if she's nuts as she bolts from her seat on the cold boulder, quivering all over. "The guardians," she babbles, "they're the wolves!" Bracken's alarm sends a shock through her system, but he doesn't look surprised by her news, just frightened for Kendra. She looks around as they all gawk at her, and imagines she must look pretty freaked.

But haven't any of them made the connection?

A clawed foot grips her shoulder, and Alec's deep voice says like a wave rolling over a sandy beach, "Kendra, sit down, it's just a story, child."

Kendra frowns. "But—" she protests, before sighing and sinking back onto her rocky seat. The atmosphere relaxes, like someone's just exhaled after an hour of holding their breath. She can still feel everyone's eyes on her. Bracken switches sides of the fire so he's sitting next to Kendra.

"What just happened, Kendra?" he murmurs, laying his hand overtop hers. "What did you just sing?"

Kendra frowns in confusion, baffled by all of their behavior. "What did I – wait, what did you guys see me do?"

Everyone exchanges glances. "Uh, Kendra," says Seth hesitantly. "Your eyes started glowing with white lights. Like, I don't know… like you'd been possessed. And then you sang a wordless song with three voices. It was really weird."

Kendra blinks in astonishment. That hadn't been what had happened at all! "She's clear now," decrees Bracken, studying Kendra's face, pain pinching at the corners.

Kendra's stung. She'd thought that Bracken had been holding her hand as a reassurance, as a sign of affection; he'd just been reading her mind, and invading her thoughts! Kendra jerks her hand away from him, making his silvery blue eyes sadden beyond anything she's ever seen the unicorn openly display. It breaks her heart, but she's too miffed with him to be sad for him.

"Should I continue, or what?" asks Flash-Foot. "She's absolutely okay now…"

"Continue," insists Kendra, irritated but not allowing Bracken or herself to ruin a perfectly good storytelling time. "I'm interested in the Spirit-Something-Or-Another."

Flash-Foot smirks. "It's 'Soul-Bearer of Time', actually. But I'll start anyway." His voice drops. "In order to understand this tale, you must first grasp the concept of a soul. Souls contain everything; your strength, your personality, and your very being. It's the most precious thing anyone has.

"Wolves, and most other creatures, have unusual souls, at least for you. You see, we were created with one soul, one mind, outside of our bodies, trapped in an amethyst-like gem. This soul, called the Soul Stone, contained a part of everyone's soul. It's a big gem, a bit bigger than a cantaloupe." Seth squirms. "This gem is the highest level of priority to wolves, because we can't function and save the world correctly without our soul. So, long ago, a single bloodline was chosen for the soul to be passed down through generations of wolves.

"They are called the Soul-Bearers. The Soul Stone is their only necessity, along with producing offspring to carry the legacy on. Their rank is even higher than that of the King and Queen, and their power is unparalleled by any creature. Well, except the goddess. Anyhoo, it's our crowning glory, and our most beloved possession.

"Or, at least, it was." Kendra had a feeling that was coming.

"The latest Soul-Bearer was a brilliant one, the smartest creature in all of creation. More on that later. As a pup, some forty thousand years ago, Cadeliah the Mother of Wolves and Seer Through Time had been unlucky enough to have some experience with unhampered time-energy. Her father had been the previous Soul-Bearer, and had fallen for an intelligent she-wolf the color of chocolate with the brightest blue eyes. Cadeliah originally had the eyes and coat of her mother, a perfect duplicate, before the mum's experiments got out of hand.

"Cadeliah's mother tampered with time, experimenting with time travel. Some question her sanity to be messing with subjects as fragile as time. One day, she allowed Cadeliah to assist, and to begin to use that brilliant mind of hers. That was the first day Cadeliah began to think, to really think, and the gears started turning. Cadeliah was at a human equivalent of age three, yet with the mind of a seasoned warrior and a clever scientist combined, when the accident happened.

"Cadeliah had barely escaped with her life, and her mother hadn't. Cadeliah's mum opened up a wormhole through time with her young pup's clever thought train. At first, this was a great achievement for them both, until the wormhole turned into a time portal, and sucked Cadeliah's mum right out of existence.

"I imagine it was a simple way to go: no pain or blood, just _pop_! She never suffered, which is less than what can be said about Cadeliah.

"Cadeliah escaped with her life, but not undamaged by Time's brutal wrath: the young pup's left eye had been marred, stained deep gold by the pure amount of power whipping through her mother's lab.

"Cadeliah's been haunted ever since by ominous glances of the future in something she prefers to call a Time-Trance, always foreseeing, unable to do a thing about her fate, or anyone else's. She foresaw the fall of the Demon King and the Fairy King, and the rise of the Fairy Empire, and its fall as well, if you lend your ear to rumors. She knew when her father would die and when she would inherit the burden of the Soul Stone, and when the day she meets her own demise will arrive.

"Cadeliah was so, so smart; the Fairy King and Queen would tend to bow to her if they ever met her on her wanders through the woods." Bracken's eyebrows shoot up. "The Dragon Mother, which is the first dragon, hence the name 'mother', respected her and honored her. But what made Cadeliah so brilliant wasn't her extraordinary brain; it was her infinite generosity and unending love.

"However, in the midst of this time of purity and peace for the wolves, the Wolf King and Queen allowed the human species to grow and adapt and learn, tipping the balance slightly, letting the strange species join the higher beings. Cadeliah wasn't very pleased by any tipping of the scales, but she kept her muzzle shut, because she knew how the day would end.

"Now, understand that, when to species that have shared souls want to bind themselves in a treaty, they go through a ceremony where they offer each other's soul to one another. The species is supposed to lay the Soul Stone on the ground and let the opposite Soul-Bearer pick it up in their mouth, before returning it. Then the process is repeated, except with the other race. The foolish King and Queen wanted to try and preform this act of unity with the humans, which is arguably the worst mistake ever made in lupine history.

"Cadeliah fought. Oh, she fought. Cadeliah already had one litter of pups that were reaching their age as yearlings, and a set of three newborn pups sired from her mate. When the King and Queen held these pups hostile for Cadeliah's cooperation, she obeyed, but knowing that the fall of the world would be riding on her shoulders for the rest of her life.

"She offered the Soul Stone respectfully to a group of soldiers and the prince of some important country in Your-Rope, I forgot which one, and laid the stone in front of Prince Phillips. Cadeliah tensed her muscles, prepared to leap into action.

"Phillips strutted forward and picked up the gem. Its power flowed through his veins, and Cadeliah's greatest fears came true: greed, man's strongest emotion, won out over honor and strength and duty. Phillips hid the stone, getting back on his horse, intoxicated by the power, and spurred it away from the small group of assembled wolves. Cadeliah was heartbroken, as any wolf would be." A shudder goes through both Seth and Flash-Foot.

"The wolves' power was diminished, and our careful order fell into ruins. Cadeliah's current mate and older litter of children led an unauthorized raid into the castle to retrieve the stone, but only achieved in murdering the prince's family and getting themselves killed. Imagine me, three feet taller, with burly muscles and powerful sorts of eyes that the creatures of Earth would bow to as I walked past. That's who I would be with the Soul Stone.

"The hunt began, and it never has stopped. We've gone in numbers from three million individuals across the Earth to just thirty-five thousand. The Soul Stone has been passed from the hands of one human to the next, never stopping in its journey, never reunited with its proper owners, just wandering. I can sense it out there somewhere, so it hasn't been destroyed." Seth twitches. "You might be wondering how I can talk to you right now if I don't have a soul. Well, that's the glory in combined souls; you separate your spirit from the Soul Stone as soon as it leaves the paws of the Soul-Bearer, allowing you to keep your identity. But, really, we're a husk of who we could've been.

"This was all around thirty thousand years ago, and it paid a terrible toll on every wolf, but especially brilliant Cadeliah. Her pups were killed in a hunt, slaughtered mercilessly. Soul-Bearers still retain a connection to the Soul-Stone, so she could feel the emotions of the men that held her life in their hands, rubbing their filthy mitts all over her grand jewel. That connection became a curse; without her gem, Cadeliah became immortal and undying, impossible to kill, until the gem is safely in her paws once more.

"Some of you may not understand why that's a curse. But Cadeliah couldn't bring herself to go and seek the Soul-Stone, to end all her suffering by taking the life of its captor. To this day, I'm proud of her for enduring all that. Cadeliah's my hero.

"So, instead of taking to a life of death and revenge, Cadeliah earned her title of the Mother of the Wolves. She would raise her own pups, loving them to the moon and back, and then would be forced to watch them perish as she lived on. She would foster any creature: dragon, unicorn, fairy, astrid" – Flash-Foot nods towards Alec – "with great results. But her own children would die, and she would be thrown into terrible grief each time, one that she might not rise from for a few centuries.

"Imagine your siblings or your children, whichever you have, and the bond you have with them." Kendra looks at Seth, and her skin prickles as she feels Bracken's eyes slide to her. "Now, imagine that you were forced to watch them die in your arms. Go through that thirty seven times, and you won't even begin to know what it's been like for Cadeliah to lose her famous Thirty-Seven Children and three mates.

"Only one child survives, a nearly identical daughter, right down to the golden eye. Her name has been purposely lost in time. There's rumors that, sired from the ill-fated mate, Brambling, her soul-mate, there's another litter of pups, hidden in from man's eyes somewhere desolate and protected, somewhere she's determined to succeed in. But they're just rumors.

"Cadeliah's only refuge from her eternal torture has been her scrolls; she has a huge library somewhere, buried in the earth, a room the size of one of your… uh, foot-orb fields, filled to the brim with scrolls of science and time and theories and her brilliance.

"Cadeliah is my hero, because of her love and forgiveness. And her pain. She's lost all of her families, and it's very reassuring to know there's someone out there with even rottener luck. She's lost almost everyone she cares about, but she forgives their killers and continues with life. She never ever forgets their insults, or their killers, or her family. It rides on her spirit, breaking down her mind, but she never gives in. Not ever." The pup's eyes shine in the firelight, glinting like a cat's, little blue orbs a bit bigger than quarters. There's a dreamy smile spreading over his teeth.

"I've met Cadeliah," purrs Alec from his perch up on the tent, making Kendra jump. Bracken places a calming hand on her arm, but she shrugs him off. "My favorite thing about Cadeliah is her humblity; she doesn't act like anyone special, anyone special at all, unlike others with her rank and fame. In fact, she may pass you by in your life and you'll never ever even recognize her 'brilliance'. Instead, she helps you see your own greatness, and realize your own 'brilliance'. She's like a tonic for any wound, mental or physical, and loves you whoever you may be, inside and out."

Silence envelopes the little circle of people, and shock plasters over everyone's faces as they begin to piece the puzzle together. Warren falls over, slipping off his rock, and then rights himself with a blush. Vanessa rolls her eyes and elbows him.

Kendra blinks. She wishes Bracken would stop staring at her with those does unicorn-eyes. He's making it very hard to stay mad at him. "If I ever find your soul and whoever took it," promises Kendra, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Flash-Foot, remembering her oath to Aladdin, "I'll return it to you, and kill whoever was keeping it from you."

For whatever reason, from across the campfire, Seth looks absolutely terrified.

* * *

Cadeliah walks out into the ravine, keeping her head high and ears pricked as she strides elegantly between the lines of wolves. They mostly look suspicious and bored, some growling, others whining, and a few smiling encouragingly at Cadeliah.

At the end of the aisle, Thunder-Soul slips out from the Alpha den, his stormy grey eyes meeting hers. Cadeliah squares her shoulders, her mind racing. He wouldn't be a bad mate, definitely loyal and strong enough to protect her pups. Nothing compared to dear Brambling, of course, but adequate. He certainly fancies her; Cadeliah can tell by the inconspicuous quiver of his tail lowering slightly when he first claps eyes on hers, and then way he talks around her, gently and somewhat nervously.

Thunder-Soul is the only wolf in this clan that knows her secret, other than Fiona, of course. Cadeliah finds it flattering that he adores her anyway, regardless of her troubled past.

"Swift-Song," he greets with his deep voice, musical even by wolf standards, so much left unsaid with that one name. Cadeliah nods at him respectfully, not allowing any signs of affection to show.

He bows to her as she pads evenly through the den opening, and then follows her inside. As soon as they reach the massive council chamber with its immense cavern figures, Cadeliah whips around and hisses to him, "They're coming, Thunder-Soul! We must protect them!"

"Peace," he soothes, grey eyes flashing. "What exactly did you see?"

"The girl," answers Cadeliah, her mind moving on three different wavelengths, three different thought processes, at the same time. "I saw the girl, surrounded by the cackling wolves with black eyes."

"Again with the black eyes?" sighs Thunder-Soul, shaking his head wearily. "What could it mean?"

"I'm not sure. But this sanctuary, it has become the target. And it will not last long. It will not last long at all."

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**BUM BUM BUM! I hope you're not too confused, but, basically, Cadeliah is this great eternal mother that's been forced to watch all of her families die. Now, everything's falling apart, and her time is needed once more; except nobody knows where to find her. PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF, AND I CAN'T IF YOU DON'T ****REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 9

**`I'M BACK! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but hello! A special shout-out to AerinM, who's really helped this fanfiction come to life! I know, I'm so mushy gushy it makes my own heart melt!**

**To whoever asked: does it look like Bracken and Kendra are going to be just friends? Answer that question yourself with some good old deductive reasoning. **

**Anyway, please review! Constructive criticism is okay, and so are comments! Just don't lash out…**

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**Chapter Nine**

"Why are you mad at me?" calls Bracken as Kendra passes. She jumps up higher, beautiful green eyes wide with surprise. His tightened chest fills with repentance. "I'm sorry for startling you."

"It's okay," she sighs, shaking her head and refusing to meet Bracken's eyes. Worry makes it hard to breathe. Had he done something wrong? Had he offended her? Bracken wants nothing but her happiness, and it disturbs him greatly that he might be the one causing her discontent. "What do you mean, mad at you?"

Bracken shrugs, the distant unicorn-self snorting with disgust at the distinctively human gesture. He doubts his father would be proud of his behavior: acting like a human, falling in love with a fairykind girl, going on dangerous quests for the sake of a shadow charmer, retaining, however fragile, a friendship with a spiteful blix...

The reasons Kendra could be irritated with him settle on his heart like a cold stone, and, trying to keep his voice even and emotionless. It isn't hard, considering unicorns are very aloof and almost unfriendly. "You've been pushing me away all night. Even at this distance, I can feel ripples of your annoyance. You're refusing to look me in the eye." That instantly makes her eyes snap to his in Kendra's own sort of rebellion. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry. I truly am."

Kendra looks at him for the longest time, green eyes unreadable. The cool night air whips around the peak of the boulder, bringing the complex scents of the forest. The fire's been put out, the embers just an orange glow. Bracken can see fine, however, with the light caused by Kendra's bravura radiance. Most of the rest of the people are sleeping in the tents, breathing softly, one snoring like a congested elephant. Bracken suspects Tanu may the culprit of the crude noises, but he can't be sure; Seth's also a big snorer, and, as ridiculous as it may sound, he's not completely out of the woods for the snores practically shaking the tent. Finally, Kendra's eyes falter. She looks away, blushing.

Bracken's chest aches now, throbbing with every pained heartbeat. It surprises him. He guesses that he's never come so close to losing Kendra, and his strange unicorn desires are going nuts on him. When Kendra speaks, his heart clings onto every precious word.

"It's not your fault," says Kendra slowly. "I was – no, _am_ – just a little miffed that you invaded my mind at the campfire without my permission, even if you were checking for any, I dunno, a spirit or possessor or whatever." Her shame burns through Bracken, and it's everything he can do not to scoop her up into his arms. "It's stupid, and I'm sorry."

Oh. Dear little Kendra. Bracken knows that there's nothing to apologize for on her part, for it had been his on his fault, but Kendra's taking the weight of his mistake onher own shoulders. It's in her nature. But that won't stand. She already takes the blame for so much, with too many responsibilities resting on her human shoulders.

"Oh, Kendra," sighs Bracken, closing the distance between them and wrapping her to him in a hug before he even knows what he's doing. His arms wrap around her, with the very tips of Kendra's filthy and greasy hair brushing his hands. Surprise courses through Bracken when he realizes how much he's cherishing her warmth, and the feeling of her heart beating. "Oh, Kendra, Kendra, Kendra…"

Kendra stiffens in his arms initially, but then relaxes, linking her hands around him. Bracken nuzzles her hair, breathing in her sweet, sweet fragrance. True, it's tainted by grime and perspiration, but it's still Kendra's smell, and nothing could ever be as important to him as that. "Kendra," he breathes in her ear, "I'm sorry, Kendra. I wasn't thinking. Oh, Kendra, I'm sorry."

She laughs against his chest, laying her cheek against his heart. "Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" Kendra teases, prodding him slightly with two fingers. "Don't worry, unicorn; you're forgiven. Now you know."

And, at the moment, Bracken doesn't care what his family may think of his relationship with Kendra, or his attraction to the petty adventures of humans, or the gestures he's picked up over the years. Kendra will be here for him, forever and always.

Or as forever as a mortal can last.

Bracken isn't sure how long they stand there in each other's arms, but he knows that, however much he may enjoy finally embracing his holy goddess, Kendra hadn't come out without a reason. That reason might be a need to use the restroom. He releases Kendra with a weary sigh. But before she can escape him completely, some sleeping male instinct grips him, and acting on an impulse, Bracken leans forward and plants a soft kiss on her forehead.

Bracken's afraid to see her reaction, something he laughs at internally. So, instead of facing Kendra, he turns on heel, glancing at her over his shoulder, and calling quietly, "Goodnight, Kendra. I love you, my lovely fairy princess."

_Idiot_, hisses his mental voice once he's realized what he's just said. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_ But Bracken doesn't regret a word when he catches a glimpse of Kendra's giddy grin.

He ducks into the tent and falls onto his sleeping bag, not bothering to climb in, thoughts swirling through his brain, tiring and endless. How are Bracken's sisters? His message had been brief and inadequate. He wonders what they're doing, and feels a pang of homesickness in his gut. He loves Kendra; he really does, but she can't solve everything. Bracken also wonders what to do about the wolves, too.

Why aren't they sticking up for themselves? Bracken comprehends that they aren't violent in nature, but even they have to draw the line somewhere. And these humans… Bracken's learning more and more to warm to the funny race, but this has definitely put a dent in his opinion of the hardly evolved apes.

Maybe Bracken should seek out this "Cadeliah." Maybe he should seek out whatever human has this "Soul Stone." Or, here's an idea, maybe he should go to sleep and worry about this tomorrow.

Rolling over, Bracken shuts his eyes, and plunges into the embrace of dreams as soon as his head hits the lumpy pillow.

* * *

The woods had looked pretty creepy from the top of the big ol' rock, but Seth decides that the green forests are even friendlier-appearing than Fablehaven's thick woods. Light filters in through the deciduous leaves, staining the golden sun with streaks of light green. Every tree is coated with emerald green moss, spotted with colorful wildflowers. Jewel-colored birds literally _sing_ everything from Mozart's classic tunes to something that sounds suspiciously like Metallica. There isn't much in the way of bushes, but instead cushy moss and short, springy grass that blankets the dark and damp soil, leaving a clear view of anything that may try to creep up on them. The path is vaguely sandy, the color of French Vanilla ice cream and carefully curbed. If wolves have to live anywhere, this is a perfect home. Like a fantasy wonderland.

The canopy's pretty thick, though, despite the amount of light getting in. The tree limbs hang down and twist together, forming sort of a set of playground monkey bars through the forest. It's not sweltering but the perfect spring temperature: not too cold, not too hot. There's a remarkable lack of pine trees in Seth's opinion, not that anybody would care.

The party trots along single-file down the narrow path, maintaining a driving pace. Zia comes and goes, sometimes padding alongside them through the moss, sometimes waiting for them in the crook of a particularly twisted tree, and then other times talking to shadows, supplying only half a conversation. Bracken seems at perfect ease with the woods, tipping his head to the few squirrels and nodding respectfully to this really cool white deer with golden horns. Kendra follows his lead like a little puppy dog, offering every woodland creature she stumbles upon a beatific smile, like freaking Snow White or something.

In front of him, Warren stumbles. Instantly, all the birds stop tweeting Cher Lloyd and freeze in their trees, staring creepily at Warren. As soon as Warren steadies himself, they continue singing to one another like nothing had ever happened. Bracken frowns, but doesn't say anything. Seth files that in the _Freaky_ category.

Finally, Zia shows up again, swinging through the trees like Tarzan. Alec follows her, swerving fluidly among the trees like a freaking jet plane, keeping pace with his girlfriend and passing her easily. Zia flips over the path above Vanessa, unfurling her greasy black wings, and loops through the trees. Seth smiles. He wonders what it'd be like to fly, and not just as a heavy passenger.

Zia drops down in a little clearing, and Seth frowns. That'd been a bit redundant to fly that meager distance. Apparently, Alec agrees, chirring with disapproval, cutting neatly over Seth like a shadow.

Seth jumps when he thinks something follows the astrid, just a flash of color. Eyes straining, Seth can just make out the barely visible shape of another creature, leaping through the air, hitting the moss without a noise and continuing across the turf. All he can really make out is brown fur.

Great. Brown fur. That really narrows it down.

Kendra steps on his shoe from behind him. Seth realizes he's slowed down to study the astrids and the strange furry thing. She hisses very uncharacteristically behind him, "Pick up the pace!"

Frightened by Kendra's rotten mood, Seth jogs to tag behind Warren again. Bracken glances over his shoulder in concern, so Seth knows he's not the only one worried about Kendra's worsening attitude. The fear barely concealed in his silvery eyes sends a shiver of unease down his spine.

_Poor child,_ whispers Seth's voice heartbrokenly, her potent sadness filling Seth's mind and making tears threaten. _Oh, that poor, poor child. So young. Why do they always die young?_

"Wait, what?" Seth breathes softly, so quiet he suspects anyone but the astrids can hear him, with their freaky-hearing-superpowers. When the voice comes again, it's pretty confident, and kinda triumphant.

_Do not fret, Child of the Wolf, _proclaims the voice, determination brimming Seth. _Kendra will be fine if my name isn't… actually, I don't think I can tell you my name and verify your safety. Zia was worse, and the Fairy King was downright horrible; and yet look at them now! Well, actually, the Fairy King tussled with Gorgrog, so he's not the best right now…_

Seth focuses on sending his confusion to the voice, unwilling to risk anyone overhearing his end of the conversation.

_I fancy myself a high-end therapist; a mother for everyone that needs protection. Kendra might be my next patient. Oh, my… I've got to go. My pups just found a porcupine. That won't end well for either of us._

And then it's gone, as suddenly as it had come.

This time, the voice leaves new unanswerable questions cycling in Seth's head, and an ominous edge in the melody of the bright songbirds enters the woods, echoing off the trees like a funeral hymn.

* * *

Finally, Seth hears Zia whistle for their attention. After walking endlessly through the massive, endless forest since six o'clock in the morning, they're finally stopping to sleep. The only one who doesn't look tired is Flash- Foot, crouching at Kendra's side.

The sun had long since sank behind the horizon, but the woods aren't dark like Fablehaven's forest. Instead, everything thing here _glows_: blossoms opened up on the trees, shining dimly with shades of purple and grey; the wildflowers cast ruddiness around the floor; little radiant seeds or something float around, with a white luminescence; bluish spores grow from the moss as they pass, and whenever Zia places a foot on the lush ground covering, it leaves a luminous imprint in the plants for a few seconds; and shimmering mushrooms had sprouted along the edges of the path, lighting their way like little lanterns. On top of that, fireflies blink throughout the forest. It looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie on another planet.

"Listen up!" calls Zia, clapping her hands, causing a bunch of lightning bugs to flash at the same time around her. "It's about nine-ish, and time to get some sleep, in my opinion, and I know exactly where to go in order to be safe from the nasties roaming these woods. But there's a little problem with anywhere we sleep, because we share this forest with the wolves…"

As soon as she says that, an eerie voice begins to sing wordlessly in the far distance, high and keening, like a parent mourning a child with a creepy old song. Seth jumps and nervously tries to locate its origination, only to find that it's coming from everywhere at once. The singer repeats the notes over and over again, but each time adding a new quiver or a new dip in her voice. After about the fifth time of the same notes, the female singer drops out, and an entire chorus of male voices join in, echoing her fine chords, except deeper and even sadder.

"The wolves sing at night," whispers Zia. "They'll slow down around ten, singing each other lullabies, but until then, they're going to be chanting all the time since. I don't mind; in fact, I love their voices, and the way they join them together. But it may be bothersome for a few of you. I've brought some earplugs, but only, like, two. Speak now or forever hold your peace."

The melody of the wolves abruptly changes, becoming cheery and vaguely Irish in sound, like one of those songs they'd play for the dance unit in gym. Seth shudders at the memory of linking hands with all of those girls.

"I love it," murmurs Kendra, her voice strangely dreamy. Seth turns to her, very concerned now. "It's very peaceful."

"Uh huh," agrees Zia distractedly. "Nobody want these earplugs? Going once, going twice –"

"I'll have a pair," interrupts Tanu, stepping forward. "I can sleep perfectly fine without some wolf's lullabies, thank you very much."

"As will I," adds Vanessa, joining Tanu besides Zia. Zia nods.

"Right!" she yells. "Alec, take them to the Moonlit Circle, please! I think that the singers are at the River today, but who knows? You guys may be in for a surprise!"

* * *

Kendra's skin prickles as the song finally draws to an end, like someone's purposefully sewing an icy cold needle in and out of her skin. Like the others, this one had been unintelligible, but queer and mystic.

Bracken sits beside Kendra, his warm, calloused hand slipped into hers. Most of the others have trickled off to sleep, resting in their tents. Flash-Foot had listened at first, translating a few of the lyrics, but then collapsed at the edge of one of the shelters. Originally, Bracken had been in his tent, too, but then her unicorn had accompanied her underneath the stars.

The Moonlit Circle is a ring of smooth, ovular stones standing upright in the earth. Apparently, they'd been here even before the time of the wolves. A small stream, only about four inches deep and less than a foot across, surrounds these stones in the same round shape. They'd made camp around the silver plate in the ground depicting a dragon and a wolf dancing together.

The moonlight really makes Bracken's hair shine platinum. Kendra turns to him, amused by his distant expression and his willingness to join her in simply listening to the music. "You guys all think I'm nuts," she remarks randomly, "because I like their songs, went through a creepy glowing thing, and have a bit of an anger problem."

Bracken's eyes turn to her, filled with pain. He's taller than Kendra, so she has to look up slightly. "Kendra," Bracken whispers, cupping her cheek, "I'd like you even if you were nuts. But you're sane, Kendra; you're just figuring yourself out. And that means mood swings. Just remember that I'm always here, okay?" Lender's delightfully surprised by the amount of affection Bracken's showing. Maybe it's because he doesn't expect to survive until Kendra's eighteenth birthday.

In a way, the unicorn is more right than he knows. Kendra isn't only figuring herself out; she's wondering why she's here in the first place. All she's done is take her problems to the Fairy Queen and whine about them. Then, she had practically become a tool of Vasilis's to slay the Demon King; it had all been the Sword of Light and Darkness, Kendra had just been its pawn.

"Loose usage of the word 'sane,'" snorts Kendra, "but it'll pass. Hey, I haven't heard for a while: how's your dad doing?"

Bracken's eyes light up. "He's on his way to a firm recovery," he murmurs, hope filling his features. "My sisters, they had been so worried; and how wrong they had been to doubt Father's skills! It's like he's patching himself back up, preparing himself from the inside out."

"That's great!" cheers Kendra, relieved that there'd finally been some change in the Fairy King's recovery. She's going to say more, but the beginning of a new song cuts her off.

* * *

It's so easy for Bracken to lose himself next to Kendra. He admires the way she brushes off her own problems as nothing, and involves herself with the woes of others, distracting herself from her internal conflict. It's sad, in a way, that one so young should have to already be so strong for others. A cruel reminder that the world has changed in his years of absence.

Bracken doesn't dare try to pry into Kendra's mind, but instead dwells on her emotions. There's the constant shadow of unhappiness, of course, but other than that, Kendra's flippant and intrigued by the songs of the wolves.

Out of nowhere, she sighs, "I love that one wolf that keeps on getting the solos."

Bracken smiles. "It's not just one wolf; it's five or six in complete harmony, singing the same notes at different depths to create one pure voice like that. Rather ingenious of the wolves."

"Really?" Kendra's delighted by this. "Wow. I could never do that."

Bracken shrugs. He loves the way even something as simple as that could entertain Kendra, but something more important than her amusement crosses his mind, something that saddens him greatly. "Listen closely, Kendra. I don't know how much longer the wolves have left to sing."

Anger flows through him from Kendra. "Why would someone do something like that?" she demands, eyes flashing. "It's cruel and heartless! I'm too ashamed to consider myself human because of them!"

Bracken has no answers. He watches the moon, thinking of the wolf's tale describing the silver Moon Wolf. Flash-Foot had been remarkably brief with his tale on the Beginning, leaving out many crucial details. Bracken assumes with a crooked smile that he had been in a hurry to tell the story of Cadeliah.

"Why are you smiling?" asks Kendra curiously. "Did I say something funny?"

"No," assures Bracken. "I'm simply letting my mind wander."

Kendra nods in understanding. "That's very easy to do, surrounded by these pretty songs. I wish I could see them singing. I don't know why they're being so secretive. Wait, actually, I do. They don't know we're the good guys, right?"

"Right."

"Oh."

Silence stretches between them. But it's not an awkward kind of quiet. It's a sweet sort. He can sense her thoughts wander, and can certainly feel his own. But her mind is pleasant, and his is far from it.

Things are changing. He isn't sure exactly what, but it's like the skin of the earth is shifting, underneath his feet. In the air, too. He's been around too long to pass it off as nothing.

Something big is happening. Something massive. And Bracken is completely in the dark. That means he can't protect anyone: Seth, Tanu, Warren, the blix, Kendra, his mother, his sisters, the fairies, Mara, Zia, Alec… the list goes on and on with everyone of any importance to Bracken. He can't protect them from the oncoming storm.

And it sends shivers of fear through him. This storm will be the worst he's ever faced.

* * *

Cadeliah watches the fairykind girl speak to the unicorn. Bracken and Kendra. Or, as some of Fiona's flaky friends referred to them, Brackendra. She cocks her head, ancient eyes taking in everything.

Something is wrong. And the unicorn can feel it. But he has no idea.

JEver since Cadeliah had been a pup, on that fateful day when she'd been cursed by time itself, she'd been a paradox waiting to happen. Realizing that even as a pup, she's kept her visions to herself, only spilling a few mysterious prophecies. But, finally, time is cracking, unable to maintain an individual being able to rifle through it for such a long period.

If Cadeliah doesn't do something to stop the flood of time seeping away, then the entire world will collapse. This, she knows. She doesn't know how, or when, but the leak in the dam must be stopped, and the escaped water must be dried. Cadeliah sends a shiver through her own bones, and squeezes both of her eyes shut.

The crack must be mended. The crack must be mended.

How Cadeliah wishes she could stop what must come. Tears flood her eyes, seeping out of the corners, not even buffered by her eyelids. They trail down her cheeks, silent signs of her pain.

But the crack must be mended.

* * *

**Alright, let me teach you a lesson on constructive criticism: constructive criticism is when you try to give the author pointers politely, pointing out things you liked and things that could be improved. Wanna know a great example of what not to do? Criticize everything in the entire fanfiction, and bitterly. Remember, folks, this is a fanfiction, not a work of art, and this is my first fanfiction. I'm all for constructive criticism, but if I keep getting yelled at over reviews, it might not be worth continuing. Thank all of you guys that have given me good advice! It's helped shape this chapter and all of the ones before it! **


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm really not sure what to write here this time. I hope it's not too confusing. Here's a hint, though: if you don't like a story, stop reading it. It will save both of us the trouble. Disclaimer: I do not own Fablehaven**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Kendra pads along the sandy path, determined to have a good attitude. Bracken's directly behind her, and that makes her feel a bit better. Seth's in front of her. That makes her feel a lot better.

Seth's scabbard holding Vasilis glows slightly with a red aura. Kendra remembers when she'd been the one wielding its glory. No, scratch that. Kendra remembers the sword's glory as it'd wielded her.

The forest is too quiet without the lively birdsongs that had rang through the trees yesterday. Every one of Kendra's muscles are taunt, just waiting for something to jump out at her. Bracken's at total ease, even humming a tune Kendra recognizes from last night to himself, and so is Zia, but everyone else reflects her tense mood.

It's time to alleviate some of the pressure.

"So, Zia," questions Kendra, trying to get a conversation going, "where are we headed, through these woods? Any destination in particular, or just wandering?"

Zia laughs. "Well, there's three clans of wolves in the Caelum Amplexu sanctuary: the Evertree Clan, the River Clan, and the Peaks Clan. We're headed to the Peaks Clan, which is almost right after we get out of this forest. I know a friend there, one that's going to shelter us. We'll most likely reach her den this evening."

"I thought wolves are divided into packs," says Bracken. "Has that changed?"

"No, actually," she informs, "it hasn't. But there's so many wolves on this preserve that they've had to rank themselves even higher to keep track of everyone. Your pack just belongs to a clan, which is ruled over by a council of three wolves and a chieftain kinda guy. I'm on good terms with Thunder-Soul, so hopefully we won't be killed."

"Hopefully?" asks Warren. "I thought these wolves are unwilling to kill anything innocent and all that stuff."

Zia shrugs. "They're getting paranoid, and the ones that are surviving aren't exactly the wolves with the softest hearts. We don't exactly look friendly, what with the weapons and all."

"Understandable," purrs Vanessa. "Who is this friend of yours?"

Zia starts to say something, but then hurriedly backtracks, erasing whatever word she's been about to say. "Swift-Song," she says. "Her name is Swift-Song."

Zia pushes forward, obviously reluctant to say anything else. She fades into the woods like a shadow, followed by Alec. Kendra frowns, but the path widens, and Bracken falls into step beside her. He murmurs into her ear, "I'm not sure Zia's taking us on the most direct route."

Kendra stares at him. "What? Of course she is!"

Bracken shakes his head. "I was studying a few of her maps of Caelum Amplexu this morning while everyone was trying to rouse Tanu. There's a trail leading directly through the heart of the forest, one that would've brought us through in a matter of hours. We're taking the curvy trail, the one that loops around."

"Maybe there are monsters on the main trail," suggests Kendra. "If I was a demon, it's where I would hide."

Bracken glances down at her, amusement in his silvery eyes. "I don't know what's more disturbing: that you're thinking about what you would do as a demon" – Kendra elbows him, grinning – "or that you saw that before me. I guess I'm getting old."

"Nah," brushes off Kendra. "You're just tired. You must be, with all this thinking you've been doing."

"Thinking?" Bracken looks down at her. "What do you mean?"

Kendra shrugs, surprised that Bracken even hasn't noticed. "When you're quiet for a period of time, you start to look like you're ruminating or something. Like you're trying to figure a puzzle out, but you don't have all the pieces. Or maybe you lost a few."

"Hmm," says Bracken, his eyes becoming distant.

They don't speak again, but Kendra doesn't mind. She allows her mind to meander, admiring her bizarrely beautiful surroundings with the bright wildflowers and the lilies dangling on the vines. Kendra hasn't seen as many fairies as she'd expected in such a gorgeous environment, and those that she has glimpsed didn't look at her twice, or even Bracken.

They cross past a little meadow by the path, riddled with wild daisies. The trees part and allow sunlight to leak through, illuminating a statue of a white marble wolf, carved even more intricately than the guardian sculptures by the gates. A silver helmet covers its eyes, but he appears to be standing tall and mighty, like a king beholding his kingdom. But that's not what makes Kendra stop in her tracks.

Curled around the base of the statue is a cream-colored wolf, tiny compared to the size of Aladdin or his mate, or even the wolves by the gates. She's fast asleep, breath whistling with ever exhale. Around her mull two pups, one larger than the other. Everyone else turns to gawk at the two pups.

"I wanna be Seth!" whines the littler one, looking up at his big sister with sad eyes. "I always have to be Gorgrog!"

"Too bad, so sad," snaps the older sister. "I wanna be Kendra, and Kendra slays the Demon King."

"I wanna be Seth!" wails the puppy again.

"Then who am I going to kill? A stump? That's no fun!"

Flash-Foot pads forward. "I'll be Gorgrog. You two can kill me together."

The pups turn around with a gasp. Their eyes become wide as they stare at Flash-Foot. Kendra has to say, compared to these tiny, scraggly pups, Flash-Foot's neat grey coat, powerful electric blue eyes, and majestically dominant position is a pretty impressive get-out.

"Who are you?" babbles the Seth-wolf. "Who are –"

The little pup's eyes get impossibly wider. His mouth drops open, revealing little white fangs peeping from his red mouth. A long tongue dangles out of his mouth. His ears go flat, and his tail droops. Then the little brother takes a great flying leap onto Seth, knocking her brother to the ground with his excited licks. Seth squirms, laughing against the puppy's wet tongue massaging his face. The puppy's tail moves a mile a minute.

"Oh – my – god!" squeaks the wolf between licks. "You – are – Seth – Sorenson – the – Demon Slayer!"

Finally, a black owl descends from above to pick up the excited kid and place him back by his mum at the base of the statue. Alec chuckles to himself. Kendra's practically rolling on the ground laughing.

"Oh my Lord," whispers the older sister, her grey-and-brown coat rippling with every movement. "You're all here! Bracken the Fairy Prince, Seth the Demon Slayer, Warren the Knight, Vanessa the Nacroblix, Tanu the Potions Master, Kendra the Fairykind, Mara the Navigator, and even Zia the Owl Mage! Alec the Fallen! Oh my god, Brackendra!"

Kendra blinks, and then begins laughing again. "What did you say?"

"I'm team Brackendra!" announces the little she-pup, her tail wagging viciously as she looks up at Kendra, creeping up with her tail between her legs, eyes shining like stars. "I totally ship you two!"

Bracken joins Kendra in laughing. "I know that my interest in Kendra is the talk of the Fairy Kingdom, but I didn't have a clue that it had stretched this far."

"Of course it has," snorts Zia. "I told you that you're OTP."

"Enough gushy stuff!" snaps the brother, waddling back up. "I wanna hear the story of how Seth –"

The pup never finishes his sentence.

A horrible hissing noise fills the air, like the sound of an arrow slicing through the wind, followed by both pup's yelps of pain. Kendra blinks, watching the pup disappear and reappear pinned to the base of a tree with a long barbed needle holding him to the tree, sprouting from his neck. A few other needles quiver around him, one embedded into his stomach. Instantly, dark blood flows, staining his fur. The mother is up on her feet in a moment, but can't do anything to stop the second volley hurtling through the air towards the traumatized girl, staring open-mouthed at her dead brother. Both of their demises happen in under a second's duration.

Soon, all that's left of the pups is a lifeless corpse hanging from trees, bushy tails waving in the slight breeze, blood dripping down the shafts of the narrow needles and hitting the moss with a dripping noise.

Suddenly, it's too much. Kendra can't do anything to help them. Another set of deaths riding on her shoulders, and it's all her fault. That constant overhanging cloud of doubt and sadness and insecurity becomes a hurricane, tossing her around like a tugboat in a storm.

Kendra can feel Bracken nudging her towards a protective circle, hear him bellowing about a manticore. But it's all distant and clouded, like she's viewing it through layers of foggy plastic. Kendra's vision tunnels around the heartbroken caregiver approaching her dead children.

A sob escapes both Kendra's and the cream-colored wolf's lips. The mother nudges both of her children's carcasses, before taking off with a mournful howl. Kendra can't understand Wolfen, but she can guess what the wolf's saying.

"_It's_ _all your fault_!"

And it is. It's all Kendra's fault.

"Kendra," murmurs Bracken through the layers, his voice muddled and nowhere near as soothing as it is normally. "Come along, Kendra…"

She distantly senses his hands guiding her to the circle being creating, looking outward for any threats. But that's not what Kendra wants. She jerks away from Bracken and pulls herself into the present, whipping around to stare the alarmed unicorn in the eye.

"No," she hisses. "I am not doing that anymore."

And with that, Kendra whips around and bolts into the forest, not really sure where she's going. About thirty seconds after the meadow disappears behind her, she's pretty sure that this is an awful idea, and remarkably Seth-like. The painful howl of Bracken calling her name echoes in her ears, but she only pours on the speed.

Faster, faster, faster! The trees whip around her, and it becomes a game. Each of them appear so rapidly Kendra barely has time to alter her erratic course through the woods. Thorns claw at her legs, ripping into them and scratching at her skin, and overhanging branches snarl into her hair. The mossy floor creates a hard substance to kick off of, since her feet sink with every step. Dead twigs snap underneath her feet, and leaves hiss as she whisks past them. Kendra's tears are dried by the unnatural speed she reaches, sprinting through the woods. Once, she thinks she glimpses Alec following her overhead, and only gets faster.

Finally, Kendra's energy begins to wane. She slows, panting like a hot dog, wanting just to throw herself on the ground and sink into the moss. Now that the exhilaration of rebelling and running away from her troubles is over, fear and miserableness settles over Kendra. That'd been so stupid and so unlike her that it sends trills of uncertainty in her gut. Maybe Bracken should've searched her mind a little more. Maybe there's something wrong with her. Maybe she's insane.

And now she's not just wandered from, but completely abandoned the path. Kendra doesn't have a clue what she could stumble upon out here, all alone. To make it all worse, when Kendra glances down at her watch, it reads four o'clock. Great. Not much time until nightfall.

Kendra's so stupid. What if all of them get slaughtered by that manticore or whatever? She grinds her teeth. It's unlikely, considering Bracken's great skill with that horn of his, but possible. Kendra's probably sure that they're better off without having to worry about covering for her, but it still hurts that something horrible might happen and she'd have no idea, just eternally wandering through these dense woods.

Something catches her eye. It's a cave, just randomly sitting a few yards from Kendra. She whips around. How had she not noticed this before? Stumbling on a thorned thistle and scratching up her left ankle, Kendra warily skirts around the edges of the cave. Two russet stone wolves guard the entrance.

Hope floods her systems. Wolves are the good guys, right? And these forests are their homes! Maybe, if Kendra's got luck on her side, she can convince them to show her how to get back to Seth and Bracken! Oh, she misses her boys!

Cautiously, Kendra inches into the cave darkness. If nothing else, maybe it will provide a shelter until the others can find her, or until morning light. The interior walls are lit by torch-like things along the tops of the rounded edges. Instead of fire, glowing stones beam yellow light around the dusty cave, casting shadows upon the sable shaft.

Kendra goes a little ways in, footsteps echoing eerily, until the path splits. She hesitates. With a groan, Kendra leans against the rough wall and slides down it, looking at her silly sword dejectedly.

How stupid had she been? Now Kendra's never going to find her way home, stuck in this stupid cave for the rest of her life! Well, no, that's a bit ridiculous, but who knows how long it'll be before someone finds her? She's stuck here, an idiotic damsel in distress.

Kendra had thought she'd been run dry of tears, but fresh droplets of salty water run down her cheeks. With a moan of frustration, she smacks her head against the wall, gritting her teeth to ignore the pain. That's all she's here for, apparently: to cry when things go wrong.

Before long, she's sobbing, a complete mess on the cave floor. Kendra curls up into a ball, squeezing her eyes shut. All her fault. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Oh," comes a pained voice from somewhere down the hall, "Kendra…"

Kendra can't identify the voice, but she feels warm fur snaking around her. Something big and fluffy wraps her up in a hug, curling its body around her shivering, snotty mess, a soft tail wiping away her tears. With a choking noise, Kendra throws her arms around the beast's thick neck. It's huge head holds her to it with its chin, pinning her against its warmth. "Oh, Kendra," she's sighing all the time. "Oh, little Kendra."

Suspiciously similar to what Bracken had said just the night before this.

Finally, after what seems like hours, Kendra's dry of tears. She pulls away, sniffling with embarrassment, and truly sees her comforter for the first time.

It's an immense wolf, bigger than any Kendra has seen. It's face is easier to read than most of the others, with a concerned and loving expression across her wolfishly beautiful features. Long, glossy fur that doesn't stick out in odd places or thin to a point of balding, but instead flows over her body like light chocolate syrup, a lush chestnut brown color. Her huge paws are the size of Kendra's head! The wolf's fluffy tail is thick and plush.

But that's not what catches Kendra's attention.

It's her eyes.

The wolf's right eye is the color of the sky on a clear summer day, that light turquoise blue shade which paints the sun. But her other eye is a deep and mysterious gold, even reflecting a bit of light, the tremendous depth of the amber color stealing Kendra's breath.

"He-hello," stammers Kendra. Something about those loving eyes sends a shiver through Kendra, as though she should be remembering something, something important. It's almost like having a headache. The wolf smiles consolingly.

"Greetings, Kendra Sorenson," thrums the wolf, every word melodious, like… well, Kendra finds herself comparing the wolf's voice to a chorus. One wolf usually has one song, and that's pretty enough, but this wolf seems to be hitting chords of different notes that sound lovely together with every word she says. "I am Swift-Song, Scribe of the Peak Clan, Wanderer of the Mountains."

The she-wolf pulls away from Kendra to give a crisp bow, pressing her face into the dirt and folding her elegant ears back in a position of submission. Swift-Song doesn't get up for at least thirty seconds, until Kendra says, "Uh, you can rise now."

"Thank you, ma'am," says Swift-Song, smiling motherly at Kendra without showing her undoubtedly long fangs. "Now, child, what ever is the matter?"

* * *

Seth can tell Bracken's freaked out about Kendra, but the unicorn is sure good at hiding it.

The unicorn leads the group, keeping them at a driving pace. Before she had left in search of Kendra, Zia had warned all of them that the blood of the manticore and the wolf pups would draw more vicious predators. That was two hours ago. Seth's still on guard for anything, Vasilis humming in his hands.

In one way, Seth's furious at Kendra for running off and making all of them go through this, no matter what she's going through. In another, he's worried sick about his sister. If there's one thing Seth's sure about, it's that Kendra copes with everything. And now that something's pushed her over the edge, Seth's unsure about what to do without his constant companion.

Vasilis flares up suddenly, making Seth's sense tingle. He hears it before he sees it; the furious hiss of a snake, combined with the clop of hooves. Bracken calls out for the circle formation, before something out of the blue smacks him upside of the head, just a rapid blur of green. Seth stares, dumbfounded, as Bracken tumbles lifelessly to the ground, right half of his handsome face leaking silver blood from the blow, two puncture wounds at his temple. Vasilis pulls Seth towards the woods, but Seth stations himself over the fallen unicorn's body.

"Do what he said!" bugles out Warren, taking control of the situation. "It only knocked him out because he was right! Circle up, and fix yourself around Bracken!" Seth obeys without question, finding himself locked on either side by Mara and Tanu.

A purring hiss comes from the forest. Bracken groans. "He's coming round!" shouts Vanessa from somewhere in the small circle. But Seth's focused on the figure emerging from the woods, like a jade shadow.

The creature is more mis-matched than anything Seth's ever seen before. It's as if someone just had a bunch of leftover animal parts and mushed them all together.

A golden lion head snarls and growls, glaring threateningly at Seth with the eyeballs of a crocodile. Sabertooth tiger fangs curl from its black lips, gleaming like ivory. Two folded emerald bat wings are attached to the goat-like body at the shoulders. Its hindquarters are also goat-ish, but its front legs resemble a rooster with eagle talons. A rhino horn grows from the muzzle, right above the wet lion nose. Two deer antlers peek out from behind its fuzzy cat ears. From its, uh, rump, a snake's front part grows, writhing in the air like a narrow jade whip with fangs. Everything except the golden head is a varying shade of green.

The creature bats its eyelashes, purring with some strange choppy and bouncy language. The voice isn't male or female, just a voice. Bracken coughs and responds with the same tongue, his voice unusually raspy and thick.

"A chimera," he murmurs out of the corner of his mouth. "For god's sake, a chimera…"

Warren hisses under his breath, echoing the snake's foul rasps. "A chimera. Brilliant."

Seth vaguely recalls Coulter talking to him once about a chimera. Or something. All Seth knows for sure is that this beast can't be good news.

"Well, well, well," cackles the chimera in a nasally female voice. "The great warriors of Zzyxz! I wondered, when I snapped up that little fairykind running wild, but to stumble upon the actual group, unprepared and vulnerable! How astonishing!"

Seth feels his muscles go weak. No, Kendra isn't dead. This chimera is lying. He would know if his sister had been killed, right?

"Lies," warns Mara. "The chimera is known for its crafty counsel and lies."

The chimera's slitted pupils burn with hatred, and the snake snaps at air furiously. "Who would you be, little child?" she purrs. "No one special, I assume, since you weren't at the Great Opening…"

Mara tenses, and seems to decide to let someone else have a go. Seth steps out of the circle, ignoring Bracken's mumbled commands for him to back off.

"Let's get this over with," Seth growls, rage heightened by Vasilis's power. He charges at the green beast, trying to keep low to the ground. The chimera bares her long fangs and hisses, a sound like an entire nest of snakes. Rearing up, her rooster legs claw the air. Fierce plates like a turtle's shell protect her belly. Seth veers to avoid her slashing talons, rolling underneath one of the claws, guided by the sword. The chimera turns, but not before Seth can jab a hole through one of the fragile bat wings, large enough so that it hopefully won't be able to take off.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seth sees Bracken rising. He could use the unicorn. The chimera unfurls its damaged wing and shrieks in distraught, studying the savage gap. Black blood oozes from the edges. Seth thinks she's distracted, so he races forward, but the snake head had been keeping an eye on him. Seth cries out as the serpent buries two fangs into his shoulder, a quick strike, in and out. Seth retreats, and both of them study their injuries.

Seth hopes that the snake isn't poisonous, but this is no time to find out. The chimera rolls out her huge wings, using one of them to smack Tanu against a tree, knocking the potions master out for the count. Her cloven hooves clop against a stone as she approaches Seth, hissing and roaring at the same time. Her lion maw opens, like a threat. Seth skirts around the edges, much more nimble than the massive beast.

Before the chimera can fully understand what's happening, Seth feels Vasilis pull him forward. Using her flanks as a kick-off, Seth leaps onto her back, facing the chimera's patootie. The chimera snarls and bucks Seth off, but not before he severs her snake head off at the base.

The head writhes on the ground for a bit, before slowing down, hisses getting softer and softer. Black blood flows like a fountain from the scaled stump, putting out Vasilis's fire. Seth's made the chimera furious now, which is very bad, considering he can feel his strength being sapped by the snakebite. Stupid poisonous snakes…

"Do you know how long it takes to grow a tail back?" she cries, pawing at it with her rooster foot. "It'll be a thousand years before I even get a baby snake!"

"Too bad, so sad," Seth slurs.

The chimera looks up at him, and Seth gets a feeling that she won't hold back this time. With stunning quickness, the chimera leaps forward and knocks Seth's feet out from under him in one quick strike. The rooster talons leave three wet gouges in Seth's leg. Before Seth can struggle to his feet again, she pins him to the ground and knocks Vasilis out of his grasp.

Seth watches as Vasilis's light is extinguished the second it leaves his hands. After getting it away from Seth, the chimera steps on the hilt with one cloven hoof, keeping it safely out of Seth's grasp.

With a casual sweep of her wing, the chimera tosses Warren and Mara into the brush like ragdolls. "Time to die, Child of the Wolf," purrs the chimera. "It's so much fun to break the ones who think they're so important…"

"Not if I have anything to do with it," calls a furious voice from somewhere around Seth. He grins drowsily up at the confused chimera as the poison claims his system.

Kendra's joined the party.

* * *

**BUM BUM BUM! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I suck at writing action, so I hope that the last fight scene lived up to your expectations! The ball has been set in motion, and it's not long at all before the wolves are coming into play… ;) Please review with some nice constructive criticism! I love reviews! Thank you, all those that have reviewed! Everyone's opinion counts to me!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the time lapse, people! I figured it would've been weird if Kendra was kind of crazy one moment and perfectly sane the next, so I had to include the scene of Swift-Song/Cadeliah comforting her. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and for those if you that are unsatisfied with Bracken's character, I'm working on it! Writing for an ancient unicorn with somewhat primal thoughts is HARD, especially since he's in love. I'll try to improve, because I hate Cullen too, but I may not be that skilled an author. I appreciate understanding, I'm in middle school and this is my first biG thingy.**

**Phew! Ok, now enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Thank you, ma'am," says Swift-Song, smiling motherly at Kendra without showing her undoubtedly long fangs. "Now, child, what ever is the matter?"

Kendra buries her face in her hands. There's no more tears left, but that doesn't mean she has to look like an idiot in front of this wolf, too. "I'm the matter," she whispers miserably. "I feel like I'm going crazy, Swift-Song. I – I knew that I was falling apart for a while now, but recently, I've been going nuts!"

Swift-Song growls, alarming Kendra. "You are not the matter," she growls fiercely, mis-matched eyes glowing slightly in the cave's darkness. "You are the solution, but never ever the problem."

Kendra snorts. "I can't do anything. I can't fight: I'm no good with a sword, and my aim with a bow is lousy at best. I don't know anything about magical creatures, I'm not fit like Warren, and I don't have a magical sword like Seth. All I can do is talk to fairies. And, recently, not even that anymore."

Swift-Song nudges Kendra sharply with the blunt tip of her wet nose, goading her up. Why does she want Kendra to stand? The she-wolf rises also, towering over Kendra, ears brushing the ceiling. Chocolate pelt rippling with muscles underneath her hide, Swift-Song circles Kendra, eyes flashing. She studies Kendra, before snorting to herself.

"Can't do anything," she scoffs softly. "You can do everything, Kendra! You are brilliant and wise and smart and intelligent! The reason you're not good with a sword or a bow is because your figure is better fitted with a pair of long daggers. Kendra, dear, brawn isn't everything. Trust me, dear, you can do a lot more than talk to fairies."

"Like what?" questions Kendra, beginning to get interested in the wolf's speech, even if it sounds like something straight off a kid's show. "What can _I_ do?"

"Think," laughs Swift-Song. "You can think. Your mind is genius, Kendra. You understand things others don't. No one is unimportant, and everyone is brilliant, but you are even more impressive than the usual human. The reason you're not coping so well is because you're much more intelligent than the rest of your party, not to mention kinder. All of them, when they see mishap, they think, 'Oh, well, learn from their mistakes!' But you, Kendra, see much deeper than that. You can tell from a single glance how much they must've suffered, and all the ways that the life ending impacts the world, and all the things you could've done to prevent the catastrophe. That's not fair for yourself."

"So… I'm smart, not crazy?" asks Kendra, cocking her head. "Please make sense, Swift-Song."

The wolf sighs, sinking back to the floor, legs folding. Her golden eye seems to glow for a second, before fading. Kendra blinks, but she doesn't see anything else. "Kendra, I can only point you in the right direction, but you must choose yourself that you are brilliant as I insist. You are so loved, Kendra Sorenson. You should see the way the wolves bow at you as you pass, pressing themselves to the dirt. Of course, it's a waste of time, considering you never did see them along the dirt path, but endearing, all the same. You're so full of passion and love and potential. Being strong and being useful is not everything, dear. Sometimes, the most valuable people on the earth aren't the ones holding the sword and making the final stroke, in the end, but the ones holding a stranger close, or helping another creature up, or forgiving the ones that have hurt you most."

"Getting a little off subject, aren't we? And how do you even know my name?"

"Figuring out your name was quite easy, dear. You shine on a different spectrum, an easily identification for a creature of light. You have that human odor to you, masking most of the fairylike scents, so it means you're either fairystuck or fairykind. Then, let's take into account that you're shining quite so brightly, and that you're traveling with the saviors of Zzyxz, which are fabled for Kendra Sorenson the Fairykind. Easy."

"Uh, sure," laughs Kendra. "And _I'm_ the smart one?"

On and on they go, talking and chatting. Swift-Song is immeasurably wise, her opinions and ideas always clever and loving. She never once says anything that doesn't in the slightest bit comfort Kendra, and Kendra finds herself drawn to the quirky she-wolf. Kendra feels the hours crawl by, and feels her insecurities fading with every laugh and every smart remark. Something about the way the wolf laughs, the way she off-handedly talks caringly about everything, it draws Kendra to her. Kendra could've easily stayed there in that little cave forever, debating about everything from emotions to science and once what unicorns would look like with their manes braided and their tails pulled up in a bow.

"How did you even run this far away?" questions Swift-Song, shaking her head in admiration. "We're several miles from the clearing you've described."

"I dunno," answers Kendra honestly. "I just ran, as fast as I could."

"You're very lucky, then," scolds Swift-Song. "Lucky that you came here, lucky that I happened to be wandering through these caves, and lucky that you didn't stumble upon a whirligig with bad intent."

Kendra and Swift-Song are laughing about something one of her pups did the other day, attacking a porcupine, when Kendra abruptly asks: "Why did you even bother cheering me up?"

Swift-Song looks Kendra levelly in the eye. They're curled up together again, Kendra reclining on her ribcage, so the movement is a bit bizarre. "So I could do this," says Swift-Song evenly. And then something weird happens.

Swift-Song's eyes glow, one gold and the other blue. Wind whips around the cave. Fear grips Kendra like an iron fist. She recognizes the word, "Be gone!" in a string of chanted musical words, and pain fills her head, whiting out her vision. Kendra can feel something screaming, something writhing, inside her brain. But the sensation's distant, the pain is so much.

And then, the infinite agony lessens, and Kendra falls to the floor, gasping.

The cold stone underneath her hands is different than it had been before. Everything seems strange and alien: even her vision. "Wha-?"

"I removed this little thing," explains Swift-Song, her singsong voice muffled, creeping up next to Kendra. In her jaws is something black and slimy, dribbling over her fangs. Kendra looks away.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. This little guy is a minor demon that can cause major trouble: a Persian Leech. These specimen feed on light and emotions. They latch onto their victim's brain, worming in through the nose, and slowly digest their happiness and joy, until there's nothing left but an unhappy husk. I'd thought they'd all died out, or been imprisoned in Zzyxz. You must've been carrying around this one since all those months ago. This is the final proof, Kendra: you are stronger than even unicorns. Usually, it only takes a month for the Persian Leech to render its victim helpless, but you! You've been fighting this thing for three long years, Kendra. That is the work of a god."

"That was in my head?" yelps Kendra, gawking at the disgusting leech and its black coating of slime, resisting to urge to barf.

"Yes, but it's gone now. Don't worry."

"So… I'm not crazy?"

"No, Kendra," reassures Swift-Song with a kind smile. "You're not crazy."

"Th-thank you," splutters Kendra, shocked. She'd had a demon in her head for the past three years? And no one noticed this? Not even her?

"It is what I do," says Swift-Song humbly, ducking her head. "You feeling good about yourself is required to repel the demon, but I meant what I said. You are good, Kendra. You are kind. That is more valuable than ever swinging around some hulking sword could ever be."

"You're very wise," croaks Kendra, still caught on the whole demon-leech thing. She rubs her temple, and winces. A headache is building, the uncomfortable pressure more painful than anything she's experienced. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," hums Swift-Song. She helps Kendra up, using soothing words to steady her. "Migraines sometimes accompany the absence of Persian Leeches, hold on…"

A feeling like a lightning bolt tingling through her skeleton snaps through Kendra, powerful and hot, making her spine stiffen. Her headache vanishes, but Swift-Song begins to pant.

Kendra shakes her head to clear it, but notices Swift-Song's knees buckling. The she wolf collapses on the ground, flanks heaving, tongue lolling out of her mouth. "Are you alright?" Kendra yelps, realizing that this much magical activity must be a burden on the wolf.

"Fine," breathes Swift-Song. "Just give me a moment…"

Kendra kneels next to the wolf, sitting next to her huge neck and massaging Swift-Song's face comfortingly. At first, the wolf just sits there, panting, but then her eyes begin to glow lavender. Kendra's afraid of the light, and withdrawals. But it seems harmless enough, so she continues to stroke the wolf's broad face.

An uncomfortable feeling like she's being watched envelopes Kendra as the wolf's panting slows and her eyes burn brighter. Before long, Kendra has to avoid fondling around Swift-Song's eyes to keep from being burned by the bright light. On and on time stretches, every second building her nervousness. Shouldn't Swift-Song be waking up soon? Even fainting only lasts so long, right?

Swift-Song gasps, eyes abruptly extinguished. Kendra recoils, stunned as Swift-Song begins babbling.

"Seth… your brother… chimera… Bracken… we have to go!"

* * *

Cadeliah's muscles strain as she carries the fairykind girl through the forest, but she pushes herself onward, every stride leaping further than the last. In top condition, Cadeliah can reach speeds of one-oh-eight miles per hour, but she is far from in top condition. The moss tampers with her footfalls, the bushes force her to leap, and the trees create an obstacle.

She can feel one of her old swords tapping against her left shoulder, but ignores the sensation. Kendra's never ridden on a wolf before, and not with two sword in her hands, so a few cuts are expected.

Onward, to victory! Cadeliah is very confident that she'll be able to get there on time and subdue the threat, but she's unsure about approaching the group… But one problem at a time.

Ah, if only life was that simple!

* * *

Swift-Song stops suddenly, throwing Kendra forward. Her nose smashes painfully into the back of her neck. Swift-Song ignores it and sinks into a crouch, beginning to prowl closer and closer. Kendra almost lies flat against Swift-Song's back, keeping low. Her borrowed swords shine magnificently, matte bronze blades glinting in the golden light.

Squinting her eyes, Kendra can just see the distant turmoil of movement. She can see a massive green beast, like a quilt of different creatures, and the fiery blaze of Vasilis darting in and out, but that's all. Swift-Song's crouch carries her closer, but its slow, very slow.

"They'd better not hurt my boys," breathes Kendra to Swift-Song, who flicks her ears in amusement. Her pulse hammers in her veins, and her heart is caught in her throat. Kendra swallows nervously, trying to ignore the fear clogging up her brain. Her hands clench around the narrow swords, shaking slightly.

They're almost to the edge of the clearing. "Now," Kendra hears Swift-Song mutter, but something else overshadows her quiet queue.

Kendra's eyes widen with fury as the green thing pins Seth to the ground, kicking Vasilis well out of his reach. "Time to die, Child of the Wolf. It's so much fun to break the ones that think they're so important…"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

* * *

"You have until the count of three to get the hell out of here!" shouts Kendra from somewhere in the woods. Seth focuses, but it sounds like she's coming from everywhere, like the wolves. "I dare you to challenge me! It'll be fun!"

Seth's impressed by the recklessness used in her tone. The chimera on his chest pauses, as if it's found a more interesting plaything. Those dark green croc eyes blink, eyelids moving vertically, and the chimera glances around.

"Oh?" purrs the chimera, obviously enjoying herself. "Why should I be afraid of a little child, out in the woods?"

"Be wary of the threats you make," practically sings a new voice, one Seth finds vaguely familiar but still alien and different. "You never know just how many can hear you."

Now, that's got an effect. The chimera starts, wings going slack and hooves slipping slightly. Something akin to fear flashes in its beady eyes.

"One," chants Kendra sinisterly, from somewhere out on the woods. Seth grins up at the chimera demonically. Seth has no clue what Kendra's planning, or who this new person is, but he's got plenty of faith that Kendra will make mincemeat of this big old bully.

"I will stand my ground," snarls the chimera, stepping of Seth and spreading her wings, but he can hear the doubt in her voice.

"Two," sings Kendra, this time like she's talking to a little baby in a little baby voice. The chimera practically looks terrified, hissing and swirling around, rooster feet clawing at the turf in fear.

"Three," snarls the new voice, a distinctively canine sound. Something passes over the sunlight for a split second, and Seth hears something land in the grass beside the chimera. Tilting his head in the wet grass, Seth sees Kendra with two long swords, one in either hand, sitting atop a giant milk chocolate-colored wolf.

The wolf makes this weird throaty roaring noise, opening its mouth to reveal a bunch of long, killer fangs, gleaming white. Kendra looks absolutely deadly and balanced on the wolf's back, like a queen, or a god, holding her swords threateningly. "Time to die," she intones, smiling sweetly.

That's the last straw. The chimera takes to the sky, its flight crooked and uneven because of the hole Seth had carved, with a screech of terror. Kendra watches it go for a second, before slipping off of the wolf and throwing the swords on the ground, her godly moment fading.

Kendra hurries over to him, kneeling beside Seth as he gets up. Her green eyes are filled with worry. Seth pants, his arms shaky as he props himself up. Everything feels awful, like it had that one time Seth had gotten strep. Sweat beads at his forehead. Kendra lays a hand on his head, before bolting to his feet.

"Swift-Song!" she yelps. "I think Seth's been poisoned!"

Who is Swift-Song?

"Yes," murmurs the wolf, her voice beginning to become distant as the world fuzzes up. "And Bracken, too. Maybe Mara. The fangs grazed her shoulder."

"She got both of my boys!" Kendra sounds furious. Seth would've raised his eyebrows and come up with some smart retort, but he feels like he's on the brink of sleep. Kendra's face is blurring, but he can make out that she's kneeling beside him again, and then everything goes black.

Seth can still think, and move, he just can't see.

Great.

The feeling of his eyes moving and focusing on things he can't make out is unnerving, causing him to close his eyes, just because it's too creepy otherwise. Seth tries to tell Kendra that he can't see, but can't make the words escape his mouth.

Warm breath circles on his cheek, like the neighborhood dogs used to do when Seth accidently nodded off back at his old house. Then there's that wolf, Quick-Song or whatever, muttering something.

All of Seth's strength returns with one big rush, making his eyes snap open and a great gasp leave his lips. Seth bolts upright, smacking his head against the furry chin of the wolf. The wolf doesn't do much more than smile at him tenderly, and say, "Glad to have you back, Seth!" before moving onto Bracken besides Seth, whose eyes are moving aimlessly.

Kendra raises her eyebrows, irritation filling her features. "You took on a full-grown chimera with two heads, no help, no backup, no plan. Just, 'oh, my name's Seth and I've got a magic sword! Let's kill this chimera, because I think I'm totally awesome!'"

"I do not sound like that," chides Seth, getting up, shaking his head to clear it. "Besides, I'm not the one who took off into the woods after seeing a few puppies die. What was that about?"

Kendra shrugs. "Persian Leech. Long story."

"Persi – Persian Leech?" Bracken yelps. Seth's head whips around to see that the unicorn had roused, and's staring at Kendra with a mixture of self-inflicted agony and horror. "How could I not see that?"

"It's been there for a while, just biding its time," answers the wolf distractedly as she hovers over Mara, deep voice very musical and weird, like she's using a bunch of pitches at once. "Kendra's probably been absentmindedly fighting it since Zzyxz. Very impressive."

Seth's confused. What is a Persian Leech? It sounds pretty cool. Bracken slides back onto his little bed of blankets, exhaling slowly. "How could I not see that?" he repeats. The wolf shakes her head and taps her muzzle to his forehead in a gesture of pity, before padding off. Kendra watches her go, before helping Seth up.

It feels weird for a few seconds, being back on his feet. The entire world rocks, and then, out of nowhere, everything steadies. Seth shakes his head, and takes in his surroundings again.

It's the same clearing, except now, the sun is sinking beyond the horizon, like a sleepy eye shutting at long last. "Wow, how long was I out?"

"Not that long," answers Warren, clapping Seth on the back. He's got some bruises, but nothing serious. "Don't worry, there's plenty of time left to hang out!"

Seth's about to respond with something witty along the lines of, "What," when everyone's attention goes to Kendra pulling Bracken to his feet.

Kendra steadies Bracken, and then steps back, looking completely unabashed. Bracken crosses arms over his chest, glaring down at her mightily with a threatening look that must only be achieved by royalty. "You totally are not forgiven."

"Yes, I am," corrects Kendra with a knowing smile, cocking one eyebrow.

"Yes, you are," agrees Bracken with a sigh, clenched muscles relaxing, silvery blue eyes softening. Wow, this guy is such a sucker for Kendra, it's a bit hilarious! No, very hilarious!

She wraps her arms around his torso, burying her face into Bracken's chest, not caring that his silver blood is still drenching the shirt. After being initially taken aback, Bracken curls around her in a hug.

"Aww," breaks in Seth after two seconds of awkward silence.

Kendra laughs and squirms out of Bracken's hold, even though it looks like the unicorn would've been happy to cuddle for the rest of the century. "Guys," she announces, stepping back, "I'd like you to meet Swift-Song, the wolf that found me."

Swift-Song had been politely standing in the back of the meadow, half in the undergrowth, while Seth and the others had woken up. Flash-Foot hovers at her side, blue eyes looking around protectively. She bows deeply now, pressing her face to the dirt, putting her ears back and her tail between her legs, legs stretched out in front.

"Rise, she wolf," calls out Bracken.

The wolf gets to her feet, moving with a grace that Seth's never seen before. She squares her shoulders and pricks her ears, holding her head with a proud stance. Her paws set apart in an elegant position, and her ruff stands on end like a majestic mane. One gold eye shines, deep and lustrous, and one sky blue eye as well.

"I am Swift-Song," hums the wolf, her voice deep and clear, "the Scribe of Peak Clan."

Seth blinks. A breeze whips around the clearing as she announces this, circling around her fur and ruffling it dramatically like they do in movies. There's just something about the way the wolf holds herself, the way she speaks the powerful look in her odd eyes, that makes Seth want to bow down to Swift-Song. Seth doesn't even feel like that around Bracken, the almighty Fairy Prince; so who is this wolf?

But the moment's gone as quickly as it had come. Swift-Song frowns, looking up at the sky. "We need to get going. The chimera will be back, when she realizes it's only I. I am certain that I can dispatch of Lydia, but I would prefer to leave her alive. There are not many chimeras left in today's cruel world…"

Bracken nods. "Yes, haste is essential."

Swift-Song nods. "Shall we take refuge inside my cave? Kendra's been there once before, and I can tell you than it's a labyrinth under there. I can safely lead you to the heart of the Peak Clan in under an hour, free of danger."

"Of course," answers Kendra smoothly, as if she belongs in this weirdo world.

Swift-Song nods, before tipping back her muzzle. Seth can feel the power of the stone on his back pulse as Swift-Song howls, a melodious noise echoing eerily around the forest. Afterwards, the she wolf smiles at them. "Follow me, and stay close! There are still enemies in these forests!"

"Don't worry," chuckles Tanu. "I'm pretty sure we won't stray far."

Swift-Song nods and gestures towards a pass in between two massive oak trees that Seth doubts he could wrap his arms all the way around. Cautiously, he steps out onto the moss. His foot sinks for two inches, but then holds firm.

"Okay," calls Kendra, waving her hand in the fading sunlight. "Let's go!"

* * *

**Yay, I'm finally finished with this chapter! It's taken forever to edit and smoothen out. How am I doing on the whole almighty and loving Cadeliah thing? How should I improve it? Any pointers help!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hellloooooooo, everybody! Sorry for the wait, even though it wasn't all that long! A little shout-out to Guuueeesssttt this time (I think I got it right). Whoever you are, and however many or you there are, thank you so much for all the positive support and review! It's really encouraged me to continue writing on this fanfic, despite some of the negative reviewers! Keep reading, everybody, and keep reviewing!**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Seth bumps into the big wolf when she stops suddenly at the edge of a dark cavern, hidden by long, swaying curtains. They've been progressing slowly, stopping only once to return the swords Kendra had borrowed. Apparently, those were the ones Cadeliah the Soul Bearer had used while she could still maintain a human avatar, so they're something Swift-Song had wanted back. The cave system's immense, and really kinda cool. They've passed entire chambers made up of milky glass, and some filled with giant plants twisting up the sides. There's been a few with tons of statues carved into the sides, and a couple with every single weapon you could ever imagine, Seth's version of coolness.

Swift-Song turns around and looks at the group. Seth glances back, and just can't help noticing Kendra and Bracken next to each other. All of them center themselves around the wolf, as she obviously waits for them all to pay attention, blocking the path forward. Alec hisses at Warren to be quiet from atop Zia's head. The astrids had joined up at the mouth of the cave.

"We're about to enter the Mirror Room," announces Swift-Song, giving them all a look. "Basically, just a room filled with giant mirrors. But, when you look into the glass, you see… well, it's different for everyone. I, personally, believe it was the inspiration for the mirror in Harry Potter. You see yourself as you truly are, or another version of yourself, or as you should be. Very complex magic. I advise we don't linger long, and be careful not to break anything."

"What happens if you break a mirror?" asks Mara.

Swift-Song looks at her solemnly. "I've only heard rumors, but trust me, it is not something wise." With that note, she stands off to the side, beckoning the group in with a waving motion of her snout.

Seth scurries ahead, shoving the heavy curtains out of his path. After so long in the darkness, the brightness hurts his eyes. Seth blinks, adjusting, and takes in his surroundings.

On either side of the walkway, there's giant mirrors. Some are like the things in dance schools, huge and flat. Others are twisted. Some are horizontal. Some are sideways. Some of them looked like they just said, "Fudge you guys, I'm gonna twist around and you can't do a thing to stop me." But all of the surfaces are polished and shimmering, reflecting the light trickling in from a point in the ceiling. Oddly, the reflections of the other mirrors don't show up.

Cautiously, unsure of what he'll see, Seth takes a step forward, and into the zone of the first mirrors. Another step carries him deeper into the long chamber. Building his courage, Seth tears his eyes from the path and looks into the mirror.

Seth sees himself, but not totally himself. The other Seth is wearing a long black cloak hemmed with navy blue, one that fades into shadow around his ankles. A black breastplate dusted with silver gleams from underneath the dark folds. He's got Vasilis in a scabbard at his waist, and a silly grin inside of his cowl.

"Cool," Seth mutters. His reflection copies the mouth movement, but doesn't actually make a noise. That would be incredibly awesome if he could talk, though. Seth begins to move, doing the disco, and the ethereal warrior copies Seth, matching his movements. If you've never seen a dark shadow charmer doing the disco, it's definitely a sight to behold.

Kendra laughs and passes by him. With disappointment, Seth realizes she's got wings on hers. Kendra's dressed in a tight white gown trimmed with gold, one that resembles the long slips of the dryads and stuff. It fits to her figure well, and comes down a little low. Her hair's held back by a braid bound with golden ribbon, matching her sparkly cloak. Actually, it's not much of a cloak. More like a long strip of skimpy shimmery gossamer. On her back, two fairy wings are spread, tipped with gold, leaving a trail of white sparkles everywhere she goes.

"I've got wings!" she cries with delight. "How do I flap them?"

Bracken smiles at her from the curtains. He doesn't enter quite yet, but let's Mara and Vanessa pass before him. Vanessa looks like… well, not evil, but like a not-friendly queen, with a blood-red dress, lips smothered expertly with crimson lipstick, and an iron tiara set on top of her black hair. Mara's wearing a bronze blouse and white pants, with her daggers bound in metallic thread. A copper circlet rings her forehead, adding to the whole Native American princess appearance.

Next come Alec and Zia. Zia still has the dark astrid resting on her shoulder, and their reflections are flip-flopped. In the mirrors, Alec is standing, wings splayed proudly. On his shoulder, an elegant pure black owl sits, grey beginning at her stomach and creeping up her chest until it becomes pure white on her beautiful heart-shaped face. Zia the owl sits with her head held high, while Alec makes faces.

Flash-Foot is neat. His fur is bluish, and two pale marbled wings stretch out on either side of him. The pup sits around Kendra's feet and snarls at the reflection in the mirror, flexing his muscles and admiring his two feathered wings proudly. Warren is kinda boring. He's just a guy in a tux with a sword at his side. The burly Samoan, however, is pretty cool. Tanu's got a cloak like Seth's except its dark purple. Underneath his violet apparel, there's blue robes. Seth cracks up at first, but then Bracken finally steps into the mirrors.

Bracken stares somewhat wistfully at the giant horse in the mirror. Its long mane and flowing tail are silver, shimmering like platinum waterfalls. Its hooves are gilded and broad. Silky white fur coats the horse's skin, without even the slightest dapple. Seth can't call it a unicorn, because there's no horn, just a grey spot in the center of its majestic head.

"Because I'm hornless," sighs Bracken, touching his forehead. The unicorn leans down and taps its head to one hoof. Seth thinks the guy's going to go all sappy, but then Bracken grins, his longing mood shifting abruptly, and starts doing the shuffle.

A year ago on one of Bracken's previous visits to Fablehaven, Seth had taught Bracken how to shuffle from that Party Rock Anthem song. The unicorn had been confused, but pretty good at dancing and keeping to the beat of any song. Now, the horse in the mirror begins to shuffle too, all four hooves moving in awesome-sauce unison.

It looks hilarious.

Seth practically falls down with laughter at the sight of the magnificent horse doing something like shuffling. Flash-Foot howls with delight, making Swift-Song smile warmly. Bracken grins and does a few other dance moves, just as modern, just as ridiculous looking. Kendra does fall down laughing, but apologizes lavishly afterwards.

Zia, realizing all the attention Bracken's getting, sets Alec down and does the worm. Her feathery body waves oddly in the mirror as well as in real life. So, they have a shuffling horse and an owl doing the worm. Swift-Song chuckles from the curtains, peeking between the long drapes.

"C'mon, Swift-Song!" Kendra calls. "What do you look like?"

All the attention is quickly transferred to the wolf as she steps into the light, Bracken making way for her. Her reflection makes Seth freeze and his mind ache, like he's forgotten something incredibly important.

In the mirror, her eyes are glowing with their designated colors: ethereal gold and spectral blue. Energy leaks from them, swirling in the air, like two suns. She's about a foot taller, and her brown fur is tipped with gold, shining regally. Her muscles ripple. Around her neck is a rope, a rope binding a very familiar gem to it…

The purple jewel is strapped to Swift-Song's neck in the mirror, making Seth jump. Could it be…? But then the thought is gone, sucked from Seth, like somebody'd taken a vacuum cleaner to his brain.

Around her feet mull tiny ghostly spirits, vaguely the shape of pups. Three larger figures loom behind her in the swirling translucent mist, forming in and out of the fog, just their eyes really the only visible points. There's a bunch of the little ones, more pairs of phantom eyes in the mirror than Seth can count. Kendra stumbles away from her, gasping wildly. Seth's sister's eyes are haunted, like she's realizing something scary. The last time she had looked like that…

But Kendra regains herself and squares her shoulders. "You've got quite a strange look about you, Swift-Song. Why's that?"

Swift-Song opens her mouth to answer, but a giggle interrupts both of them. Seth wheels around, surprised, and sees a little pup.

The little guy's eyes are milky white, blank and unseeing. With a pitiful start, Seth realizes he's blind. His back legs are weird and stiff, and his ears are limp and hanging around his face. His fur is evener whiter than the horse's in the mirror, long and fluffy. The weirdest thing, though, is that he doesn't have a reflection. The pup teeters next to a mirror, almost falling into it before regaining his balance and giggling again.

"Brach!" cries Swift-Song, rushing forward and shoving people out of the way. Seth's surprised by the force she uses when she smacks him out of the way, nearly throwing him into one of the fragile mirrors. After seeing all the people she's pushed aside, Kendra wisely pivots to allow the stressed wolf through.

Swift-Song curls around the pup, clutching him to her furry chest with her huge paws. "That is the last time I let Fiona babysit!" she snaps, holding the pup to her. A tear starts at the edge of her blue eyes in the mirror, tracing down her cheek, but it's her golden eye that cries in reality.

"Is this your pup?" asks Vanessa, inching forward. Seth's not sure he wants to get any closer, because Swift-Song jerks her head up and snarls, the sound ringing around the Mirror Room at the approaching nacroblix. Vanessa hurriedly backs up, eyeing the she wolf's massive fangs she's baring.

"Oh," realizes Swift-Song. "Sorry. Mothering instincts. You'll understand someday. Yes, this is my son, Brach. Approach him slowly, he's blind and partially deaf. The only way he knows you're here is scent."

Bracken materializes beside Seth, and gradually grows closer to the wolf pup. Brach sniffs experimentally, and then breaks out in a huge doggy grin. He flies from his mother's embrace and launches himself at Bracken, little pink already slobbering. The guy clutches Bracken shoulders, making the horse back up, and begins licking every inch of his face. Seth smiles. He knows how that feels.

Kendra laughs, and the pup rips himself away from Bracken and leaps for her. Kendra doesn't remain standing, but hits the ground with a crack. Seth winces in sympathy, but she seems to be fine. The puppy's tail moves so fast Seth can't even track it.

"He's a licker," laughs Swift-Song in warning. "That tongue can be deadly."

* * *

Kendra can't look at Bracken without seeing the giant horse in the mirror. She'd taken it remarkably calmly on the exterior - something she's very pleased about - but it had sent a quiver in her stomach. Bracken isn't human, and he's… well, if he actually looked his age, the genteel unicorn would be a dried out and shriveled husk.

They reach a big cavern, one with stalagmites and stalactites and a whole bunch of other things, including some wavy stones that look suspiciously like bacon.

Up in front, adorable little Brach is curled up on his mother's withers, easily fitting into the tight concave between her shoulder blades. The wittle guy makes Kendra smile. Maybe it's just because he can't see or can't hear, but there's a complete innocence to him that Kendra can't help but love.

And Swift-Song… an idea about the benevolent mother wolf is forming in Kendra's head, but nobody, not even Bracken, seem to suspect that she's anything more than a simple mummy wolf. The gem Swift-Song had strapped underneath her chin, that could be a Soul Stone. And didn't Flash-Foot say something about the Soul Bearer going undercover?

Kendra shakes the idea from her head. A mystical mother, a queen among wolves, helping her out, of all things? Absurd.

But she'd had Cadeliah's swords, and knew how to use them… Kendra's gut pangs, remembering the wonderful dual broadswords, shaped like scimitars, lighter than adamant. The matte bronze had been so sharp, Kendra had cut her finger just tapping it to the blade. The hilts had been bound with brown leather, studded with a couple of gold stars. Along the blade for the right hand, there'd been an aquamarine streak on the broad. Along the left hand, an amber band. They'd felt like they'd been made for her hands.

Finally, Swift-Song sighs and calls, turning her head back, "Welcome to my den. Make yourself at home."

Brach, roused by his mum's voice, yawns with his little white teeth and lolling pink tongue. The blind pup's tail wags, and he hops down with startling accuracy, falling into place next to Flash-Foot without stumbling. Kendra frowns, watching him walk besides the giant she wolf. His gait is different, like he's almost dragging his two back paws.

"His hind leg bones are fused together," murmurs Bracken, apparently noticing her interest. "It's a phenomenon he's survived this long in the bloody world these wolves live in. As horrible as it is, he might not last much longer, even with Swift-Song's loving attention." Swift-Song's ears pinch in distaste, reminding her that wolves have extraordinarily good hearing.

Kendra stares at him. "Can you fix it?"

Bracken regretfully shakes his head, eyes filled with candid sorrow. "Maybe in the first few hours of his birth. But that little pup has been hobbling around for at least twenty years. There's no going back now." Swift-Song seems to deflate, but pricks back up again.

"That's horrible," whispers Kendra. "A wolf that nice would of course end up with the most rotten luck. If anyone deserves a miracle, it's that mum." Swift-Song seems to smile.

Bracken nods grimly as they take a step into the little chamber everyone else had been slowly filing into. Kendra gasps, wondering if every animal den is as charming as this little hollow.

A circular gap about ten inches in diameter allows light to stream in, with a little hatch like a windowsill made of colorful stained glass hanging down. In its soft stream of white sunlight a delightful little gnarled sapling grows, like a miniature oak, on its own little island. A brook trickles from one of the walls, crystalline water babbling like the old saying, before pooling in a quiet pond. Somehow, the water in the pond doesn't rise any higher. The walls are perfectly smooth, with a little alcove dug out filled with fluffy animal pelts and a couple of children's toys. Neat pyramids of tidy scrolls are stacked in one corner, pushed to the side. The entire place smells like ink and fur and, strangely, mountain laurel.

Swift-Song pads over to the alcove, hopping over the spring, and pulls apart one of the pelts with her teeth. "Jhama, Yetta," Kendra hears Swift-Song call, "you have company…"

"What?" shrieks a kid's voice, the clutches of grogginess still gripping her cadences. "Who?"

"The Saviors of Zzyxz, the Owl Mage and the Fallen Astrid, myself, and your brother."

"The Saviors of Zzyxz!" howls another voice, almost identical to the first, but slightly higher. "No! You're kidding!"

Swift-Song chuckles in amusement, but there's an air of sadness to the musical laugh. "Why don't you see them for yourself? Come on, dear children, we must not make them wait."

Before the sweet mother wolf can turn around, two wolf pups have flown out of the alcove, sea green eyes wide. Their coats are a dark, dark brown, almost black, the color of moist soil. Other than a scar on one of their shoulders, the she-pups are complete duplicates.

"Oh my god," breathes the one on the right, the one with the silver scar piercing through her thick coat.

"Could it be?" whispers the other.

"It is," booms Swift-Song. The brown wolf's eyes shimmer like a cat's in the darkness.

Kendra jolts in surprise as Brach curls up around one ankle, yawning, blank eyes closing. Bracken casts a reassuring glance, but he's on the other end of the cavern, next to Warren and Mara. That seems to wrench the little pups from their dreamy gazes, sending them into action.

"I'm Jhama," informs the scarred one, squaring her shoulders and lifting her tiny head. It's hard for Kendra to believe that these little pups will someday grow up to be as huge as Aladdin, if not larger.

"And I'm Yetta," adds the other one, her eyes flashing with timid admiration. She crouches next to her sister, like she's not the dominant one it their partnership. "Is it true that Warren spent months on end playing Yahtzee?"

Warren grimaces. "Yes, it is."

She takes another step forward, obviously curious. "And that Alec took a nosedive into the Eifel Tower?"

Zia begins laughing, her cackle a bit creepy for Kendra's like. Alec looks indignantly miffed, as if that's a delicate subject for the owl-man. "We do not speak of that," he says stiffly, holding his chin up high.

"Oh, you should've been there!" practically sobs Zia, hooting like an actual owl with laughter. "He was just flying along next to me, la di da, when suddenly, for no reason at all, he dives straight into the huge, completely visible metal structure, and almost knocks the entire thing down!"

Alec smacks her in the head with one broad wing when another wolf steps in, one that makes Kendra want to get on the ground and bow.

Kendra remembers those few moments when Swift-Song had held herself like royalty, and shivers. The wolf is evidently female, easily distinguishable. Whereas Swift-Song looks massive and mysterious, this wolf looks beautiful and powerful. Even as a human, or fairykind or whatever, she can appreciate her look. Skinny and smooth, nowhere near as furry as her mother, she acquires a chic and popular look about her. The she-wolf stalks into the chamber, pelt the exact color of Swift-Song's. Her eyes are also extraordinarily like Swift-Song's, one eye gold and one eye blue, except reversed: blue belongs to the left eye, and amber to the right. Flash-Foot sinks into a bow, eyes rounded with awe.

She looks at the group with surprise, and then shakes her head pityingly with a raspy sigh. "Mother," she complains, directing her attention to Swift-Song, "we've talked about this! You must stop picking up strays! Just because they're adorable doesn't mean they won't slit your throat in the middle of the night!" Her voice is high and lilting.

"Wait a moment," objects Tanu. "Are you calling us strays?"

The wolf's gaze evenly moves to the potion's master. "Yes, I am."

"Fiona!" scolds Swift-Song, long fur bristling. "Be kind! I know why you're grumpy, miss! Your prince charming didn't come and invite you to the dance, but, honey, that's life, and your own problem. You can talk to someone about it, but don't you dare let me catch you taking it out on others!"

The she wolf nods meekly, ears going flat. "Sorry, mum." "Don't apologize to me!" "Sorry, assorted group of travelers." The wolf, instantly forgetting about them, nudges Jhama, whispers something inaudible, and then pads out again, leaving the pup giggling.

"You still have your butt in trouble, miss!" calls Swift-Song. "You were supposed to be watching your brother! How come I found him stumbling along in the Mirror Room? Do you know how easy it would've been for him to break one of the mirrors? How easily we could've lost him today?"

"Uh huh, yeah whatever!" shouts Fiona, returning to the room, feet bouncing along the cave floor. Her elegant eyes are widened abruptly, and they burn with flames. "Do you want to know why I was absent? Why I left my post? Why I'm being grumpy? Will you even let me explain before you jump down my throat?"

"Let's see what brilliant explanation you can provide," snarls Swift-Song. Kendra's eyes flick from wolf to wolf. She's pretty sure that the Fiona is an older daughter, and had been babysitting while Swift-Song had been away, but other than that, she's not sure.

"I was lamenting for Aladdin!" roars Fiona. "He was killed" – Fiona whirls around to Seth, baring her teeth threateningly – "at Fablehaven a day ago! It's just remarkable how they happen to show up, isn't it!"

Swift-Song looks crushed. Her back legs give out, making the she wolf sit. Her ears droop and her mouth hangs open, and those aweing eyes are filled with such sadness Kendra has to physically force herself not to run up and give Swift-Song a comforting hug. "Aladdin is… dead?" she asks hoarsely, each word sounding forced and unsteady.

For the first time, Kendra can see past her calm and caring demeanor, and behold the wolf tormented by grief underneath all of her consoling words and motherly care. She can see an ancient burden, an old pain spurring Swift-Song like a thorn in her foot, digging deeper, each and every day, inescapable, no matter where she may flee to. And a destiny, once taking the tiniest of baby steps, now hurtling towards her, every second shoving her closer and closer to a fate that –

And then the moment's gone. Swift-Song squeezes her eyes shut. "No."

Flash-Foot steps forward, hackles standing on end. "Yes, my father is dead now," he sighs, nuzzling up next to Swift-Song. "He died nobly. He saved Kendra and Bracken and I think maybe Seth, too."

Swift-Song gasps, her eyes filling with tears. She swivels around, eyes glassy with hopeful disbelief, looking down at the pup with something startlingly similar to love. "You are Aladdin's son?"

Flash-Foot nods, bemused by her sudden odd behavior. Kendra frowns. "He was the best dad in all of the world. Nobody will be able to replace him, but I'm pretty sure Kendra's looking for a new dad and a new mum. Aren't you, Kendra?"

Kendra nods, her voice freezing in her throat and creating a painful lump. Bracken glances at her again.

Swift-Song sucks in a shaking breath, and pricks her ears. "From the looks I am receiving, I am sure many of you are wondering how I know Aladdin, and quite a few of you are starting to question his importance. Aladdin is so much more than people know, the secretive wolf he was. He was the one that fished young Cadeliah out of the time-radiation filled room, and paid the price. Aladdin could travel throughout all of time, unlike Cadeliah, who could only dream of the future and past. Nobody knows much about him, it was tried to keep a secret. I was not even aware that he had a son, much less that he stopped traveling."

"Did you know him personally?" asks Vanessa quietly.

Swift-Song lets herself smile brittly, as if she's making a clever joke. "He was like a brother to me. My best of friends. Of course the death of one of the final Great Wolves would shake everyone. I'm sorry I snapped at you, Fiona, dear."

"And I'm sorry that I abandoned Brach and the pups," responds Fiona sincerely, before her gaze slides to the Fablehaven gang. "I'm sorry I was so rude when I first saw you," she sighs, ears flopping in apology. "I was just shaken by Aladdin's death. If anyone was going to survive this living hell, it was going to be him."

"I'm sorry," whispers Kendra, trying to force passion into those two words. But it doesn't work, and her condolences still sound like a lame excuse. She wouldn't believe herself if their positions had been switched.

But Swift-Song is nothing like Kendra, as she's beginning to realize.

"Thank you, child," whispers the she wolf, eyes flashing with genuine gratefulness. "But he is one of many deaths to come." Fiona's head snaps up, studying her mother's impassive face urgently, as if there's some hidden message in the phrase. "Come," says Swift-Song, ignoring her daughter, "you must be presented before the Council quickly, or else you might cause some suspicions among the wolves. Those chieftains and such are so nit-picky…"

Swift-Song trots quickly out through the way Fiona had come, only glancing back once. Kendra looks to Fiona, trying to figure out what had happened. "Who's Aladdin?" asks Bracken quietly. "I mean, in the big scheme of things. A random servant or loyal subject wouldn't have gone into a dangerous laboratory just to rescue one pups out of many in a litter, so there must've been some importance to him. Maybe a lover, or a family member."

Fiona lets out a long sigh, beginning to follow her mother. Kendra thinks she isn't going to respond, but she halts at the exit and looks over her shoulder, eyes filled with painful emotions Kendra can't understand.

"Aladdin was Cadeliah's brother."

* * *

**I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE CHAPTER! THERE WILL BE MORE ON ALADDIN AND FLASH-FOOT AND CADELIAH IN FUTURE CHAPTERS, AND STUFF WILL BE EXPLAINED! **

**Just a little public poll here: who's your favorite character that I've added? Please just review about that, it will really help! Adios, buddies! I'll see you next chapter! REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I've been a bit busy recently! Things are finally picking up… and I'm enjoying writing about it! Please enjoy!**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Seth walks through the ravine, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling uncomfortably. He isn't sure why, but he's almost positive that they're being watched by eyes that aren't necessarily friendly. Bracken with his unicorn senses can most likely feel it too. The dude's been twitchy for the past ten minutes.

It's chillier here, but not so much that Seth would want the fluffy parkas they ditched in the woods. The walls are steeper than most ravines, like someone had taken a knife to the landscape and clawed a vicious scar into the earth. The walls are cold and grey, ledges coated with white. Along the bottom of the path, snow blankets the ground. Atop the sides, the inescapable white powder lines the edges. Up in front, Swift-Song leaves huge footprints for them all to follow. Fiona takes up the back, freely chatting with Vanessa. Flash-Foot and Brach had both been left behind to get some shut-eye.

Behind him, Seth hears the murmur of his sister and Bracken talking to one another with low voices. A couple of times, Bracken would chuckle or Kendra would giggle, leaving Seth to wonder what they could possibly be talking about. But if he asked, it would just be so awkward…

Zia and Alec circle overhead, occasionally blotting out the sun with their rhythmic cycles. Once in a while, one of them will swoop low and dip the tip of one dark wing into the snow, curving and leaving a trail of white flying behind them. Seth wishes he had wings sometimes. It would make things so much easier. He could be soaring above the clouds, enjoying the breeze in his face and rifling through his feathers, instead of crunching with an awkward gait in a parade of gloomy adventurers through a foot of snow.

Swift-Song stiffens suddenly, dropping dead, like those videos of fainting goats Seth had seen online. Frantically, her legs begin to flail, jerking around uncontrollably. Her gold eye winks with a bright flash of heated light, and then it's over. She scrambles to her feet as if nothing had happened. Seth frowns.

But… the memory's going, slipping from Seth's mind like a pleasant dream, racing away through his thoughts. Soon, there's nothing left of doubt or suspicion in Seth's mind, just a warm feeling in his gut.

Fiona skirts up the side of the ravine, literally running sideways across the wall while passing everybody, sending out sharp daggers of freezing snow behind her with every stride. A shard of ice slices Seth's cheek, making him wince.

She pauses next to her rising mother, muscles shaking. A moment of understand passes through them, mother and daughter thinking in absolute unison. Swift-Song gets to her feet, and Seth thinks nothing of it. She must've fallen or something.

"What was that?" pipes up Kendra. Seth twists around and stares at her. Everybody turns around to her. Zia literally alights on the edge of the ridge to gawk at his sister, before turning to Fiona. The beautiful she wolf's eyes are narrowed and closed to dangerous slits as she watches Kendra critically, as if she's wondering what a brilliant dissection project the fairykind girl would make. That makes Seth a bit uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, Kendra?" questions Fiona, persuasiveness poured into her voice, twisting Seth's opinion. "What was what?"

Kendra frowns. "Uh, nothing, I guess."

Swift-Song's eyes are praising, as if Kendra's odd comment is very impressing. "We are only five minutes off. Make haste."

And, without another word, the wolves return to their placements in the line of travelers, assuming complete indifference about Kendra's weird statement. Seth smiles, and continues down along the trail. He almost doesn't notice his sister's voice, talking to herself more than anything.

"Oh my god. A Time-Trance."

* * *

Fiona's eyes flick involuntarily to the brightness of the fairykind, and her unease increases. Swift-Song – or, ahem, Cadeliah – had speculated that because the girl remains unaffected by physical distraction spells, a mental distraction spell might also prove ineffective. Fiona hates admitting it, but her mother's insufferable genius is correct once more.

A mental distraction field: a complicated spell preventing the realization or discovery of a required subject, placed on an object that everything should be morphed around. Cadeliah had cast the painful spell on herself to shroud her true nature to everyone, so that her secret would remain hidden, however obvious she made her identity. But it has one weak spot: once someone speaks Swift-Song's true name aloud, addressing her and such, the spell is broken and everyone can see the truth. Rather fragile for Fiona's liking, but she doesn't have much of a decision on those things.

Fiona's nose perks, and she breathes in the scent. The wolves lining either side of the chasm also lift up their heads and take deep sniffs, completely invisible to every one of the humans, the nacroblix, and the unicorn. The scent sends a shiver through Fiona's bones.

The Council has been called, and the smell of fear fills the air.

* * *

Seth stands nervously, uncomfortable with the pure number of eyes focused on him. He can't see all of them, but he can certainly feel their gazes boring into his body. And there's plenty of wolves that he can see. The funny thing is that none of them seem friendly, all slightly angry and scared. Pups' eyes are covered by their frightened mothers, and couples huddle together.

The little concave is shaped vaguely like a bowl, with one huge shard of black rock sticking up from the earth. At the very edge of the rock, the ground levels out. At the base, a huge cave gapes with glowing light. Fairies and other glowing things drift around aimlessly, lighting up the dark night like little lanterns. A few of them alight on Swift-Song's shoulders, but none of them show Kendra or Bracken any attention whatsoever, as if a unicorn and a fairykind are beneath them.

Three wolves in elaborate gem necklaces center themselves around a proud, tall wolf with dark, dark grey fur and eyes the color of sunlight reflecting off a diamond creek. Finally, one with peach fur squeaks unpleasantly, "Swift-Song, Scribe of Peak Clan, why have you brought these criminals to us?"

Seth blinks. Criminals?

Swift-Song growls, an icy sound that sends a tremor or primal fear throughout Seth. "I fail to see what you intend, Snap-Crack."

"—kle pop!" adds someone, from the direction of a yellow scarred wolf. Fiona bites her lips to keep from laughing, but the elder wolves don't find it amusing.

"Have you not heard, O Scribe?" asks the blackish wolf coolly, his green eyes glinting in the light, reflecting like cat's pupils. "These 'questers' are the slayers of Aladdin the Great Wolf! They deserve to face the crime of their actions!"

Swift-Song snarls, but not at them. Her legs shift into a better position for defense, and the mother wolf looks downright deadly, eyes beginning to glow with rage.

"What?" cries Kendra indignantly, earning her the eyes of everyone gathered. "That's so untrue I'm not even going to consider it! I didn't kill Aladdin! None of us did! I held him in my arms as the last of his life trickled away from him, a life he gave up to save me! I carried his pup over hundreds of miles to find him new parents!" A couple out in the crowd exchange interested glances.

"I most sincerely do not believe that they are responsible," growls Swift-Song, voice deadly.

The last bedazzled wolf speaks. "Swift-Song, don't be rash and support the losing team. Step out of the way before we have to do something like eliminating your pups."

The grey wolf without any jewelry snarls viciously, but doesn't speak. Seth gets the notion that he's more furious with the wolf that had spoken than with Swift-Song. In fact, the dappled wolf that had threatened Swift-Song scoots nervously away from him, glancing apologetically, while the she wolf gives him a sweet smile. Completely off topic, Seth wonders how wolves flirt.

"What proof do you have of our crime?" asks Bracken, joining the debate. "Why are you so sure that it was us who committed the crime? I can tell you now, I would never dream of harming any wolf, whether they are large or small, and our intention was not to hurt a hair of any beast."

A murmur passes through the wolf crowd. The Council remains unperturbed, the dappled one even raising her elegant eyebrows. "It has already been decided, Fairy Prince," decrees Snap-Crack. "While Swift-Song was gathering her group of poor strays and Thunder-Soul out hunting for his sister, we took it upon ourselves to decide your fate. Aladdin was clearly slain on your preserve. Then, we found the dead bodies of the greeting party, carelessly strewn about. We could reach no other conclusion."

"Did you not get our message?" questions Zia, flapping down, settling next to Bracken. "We explained everything in it."

Another mutter goes through the pack. "We received your explanation, yes," answers the black wolf, green eyes incredulous. "But your story sounded like something right out of a child's imagination. I guess that's all you really are, Owl Mage. A child."

Swift-Song snarls again, the guttural noise ripping around the otherwise silent crowd, and causing others to growl with uncertainty. "I stand behind the Fablehaven Questers," she announces furiously. "If you wish to pluck a single hair from any of them, you shall have to pass my fury first!"

"Die with them," says the dappled wolf indifferently as they all jump to their feet, followed by the rest of the pack. "We do not care, one way or another."

Most of the pack still looks uncertain, but they all growl at nothing in particular, approaching slowly, creeping forward with daggerlike fangs. Seth rubs Vasilis's hilt uneasily. It would be unwise to reveal the sword and possibly threaten these old bags of bones until absolutely necessary. Seth joins the protective circle, each facing outwards. Swift-Song stands a bit off, racing around the ring and snapping at any wolves that come too close. They retreat quickly.

"I stand behind the Fablehaven Questers," calls Fiona's high voice, and she dances from somewhere among the rocky outcroppings to her mother's side. True fear and reluctance shines in the wolves' eyes, and they falter, backing away. "Or, more adequately," she corrects, "behind my mother."

"I stand behind the Fablehaven Questers!" howls a sweet voice. A petite cream-colored wolf parts through the crowd, shoving others aside easily despite her small size. With a gasp, Seth recognizes the wolf sitting by the white statue when the pups had been attacked by the manticore.

"I stand behind the Fablehaven Questers!" she repeats, moving to Seth's side and moving into a protective stance. "Kendra the Fairykind wept with me when my younger siblings were killed earlier today. If she mourns alongside me, then she is my friend, and her friends are mine!"

"I stand with the Fablehaven Questers, I guess," laughs the yellow wolf who'd made the Snap Crackle Pop joke. He's lean and mean looking, with a killer scarred face. Tattoo sort of things coat one leg. "If Sand-Heart stands behind somebody, I better too." He pauses. "She'd kick my butt if I didn't."

Some of the younger looking wolves chuckle at that.

A few others look like they're going to stand behind Seth, but the grey wolf cuts them off, rising to his feet with a hearty chuckle. He stares at Swift-Song. "Swift-Song, let's settle this with a duel. You win, they live. I win, the Council gets their way. Deal?"

"Deal," agrees Swift-Song, eyes narrowing. Seth can't help the fear that fills his stomach for the wolf. Sure, Swift-Song is easily the biggest wolf he's seen, but this other guy looks like he means business, with huge white fangs and curling black claws like kitchen knives. His muscles bulge as an apprehensive shiver passes through him.

The wolves circle each other for a few seconds, each watching for the correct moment to strike, like two pitted animals. Seth's ring moves back a bit to give the brawlers some room. The grey wolf snarls, and pounces at Swift-Song's undefended haunches, claws glinting cruelly. Seth's heart catches in his throat.

Swift-Song moves so fast Seth can't even fully comprehend what had happened. All he knows is that one second the grey wolf is leaping through the air, looking deadly and evil, and the next he's sliding along the ground with multiple scratches along his sides. Swift-Song leaps, pinning the wolf to the ground with her broad paws.

"I daresay you win," laughs the wolf after a moment of silence. "I daresay I do," agrees Swift-Song, jumping off of his grey fur, acting as if nothing had happened. He stands up and ruffles his fur, looking to the Council. "Looks like she won. Sorry."

"Oh, please," complains the black wolf. "You let her win!"

The grey wolf winks. "That was the point, Fur-Face." He isn't sure is that's an insult, or just the wolf's weirdo name, but Seth feels himself warming to this leader guy.

"Now," he says, turning to the group, "I officially apologize on behalf of all the sane wolves in Peak Clan for the Council's crude behavior. They've grown quite bored. It is quite a bad example for them to set about our race, especially to humans. Forgive them."

"Of course," answers Bracken smoothly. "No harm was done. I had a feeling nothing was going to happen, anyway."

"You're forgiven," decides Zia, sitting down on an outcropping and picking at her feathers.

"I am Thunder-Soul, Lord of Peak Clan," hums the grey wolf, sinking into a slight bow, which Bracken and Zia return. "Please enjoy our hospitality for as long as you stay. I understand your business here is your own concern and not mine, but come to me at any time for advice or an extra helping paw. You shall be under the care of Swift-Song." He turns to the mother wolf. "Is that fine by you, Scribe?"

"Nothing would make me happier." Swift-Song bows her head respectfully. Fiona lets out a long, exasperated sigh.

"Stay as long as you wish," says Thunder-Soul, before turning on heel and loping back into the cave at the base of the rock. "Feel free to socialize and tour. If you need anything at all, simply turn to Swift-Song or myself. We will assist you with everything."

And, just like that, the Lord and the Council have streamed away into the den, where Seth can hear the beginning of a livid argument.

"Come with me," orders Swift-Song. "You are tired. You must rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

Zia nods and flaps next to her with a rustle of wings, placing a pale hand on the wolf's flank. Alec alights on Zia's shoulder. Kendra follows next, succeeded by Warren, then Vanessa, and then Bracken. Seth goes after the unicorn, still dizzied by the strange conversation that the wolves had made.

"I'm sorry about your siblings," he hears Kendra whisper to the cream wolf, the one that had stood up for them. "It's my fault they died. I distracted them from sniffing out threats."

"It's no one's fault," soothes Sand-Heart, smiling kindly at Kendra. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. I was supposed to be watching them, but I took a small nap. An unfortunate accident with consequences, I guess. Strange it should happened by that statue, though, so soon after Aladdin's death."

"Why? What's that statue got to do with anything?" asks Tanu, turning to the cream wolf. Oh, so Seth isn't the only one eavesdropping! Everybody turns to her curiously.

"That was a monument to Cadeliah's most recent mate, Brambling the Warrior," explains Sand-Heart, her cheeky yellow boyfriend padding up beside her. "He was a Great Wolf, but died from a cause that's not publicly known."

"Oh," says Kendra, with an intense thinking expression. "So that would mean…"

"Let's go!" calls Fiona, beckoning them forward and interrupting Kendra briskly. "We don't have all night! Hurry it up! Keep moving!"

"You heard the woman!" bellows the yellow wolf with a hoarse voice. His muscles bunch, and his release is powerful. A plume of smoke fumes in the air behind him, he's speeding away so fast. A few moments later, a sonic boom echoes around the clearing, nearly blowing Seth's eardrums.

Awesome.

* * *

Bracken breathes in the cool air outside of Swift-Song's cozy den, admiring the purity in the scent of the snow. He closes his eyes while he thinks, tasting the fragrance of the bitter cold. Too many places once beautiful and and lush are filled with puffing factories and littered cities. He hasn't felt such divine wildness in quite a while. He can understand why a couple of astrids would want to live here.

The morning sun sends cascades of golden light over the glittering white snow. He leans against the cave entrance, caring not that his shirt gets soaked by the melting ice. Two wolves dance on the horizon, little silhouettes in the distance. Bracken thinks they look like the pair from last night with the Council, but he can't be sure.

Last night had disturbed him. Plenty of the wolves had been good and unwilling to exterminate anything with innocence, but the Council had been eager for red blood to stain the white snow. Bracken shifts, uncomfortable about how close they'd been to battle. He wouldn't have been able to defend all of them, and there would've been casualties. Maybe Kendra… No, Bracken refuses to let himself think like that.

Swift-Song lopes from the darkness of the cave, smiling up at him already. Bracken smiles back at her. With a heaving sigh, she settles onto her stomach, setting her head on her paws. Bracken lays a hand on her huge forehead, forcing himself not to read her mind.

"Thank you," he whispers, "for finding Kendra."

"My pleasure," she sighs, eyes opening just a crack. Bracken senses that the wolf's exhausted, but he assumes that's normal for a female with children. Out of the blue, she asks, "Bracken, do you like puzzles?"

Bracken frowns at the uncalled for question. "Yes, I suppose, if they're difficult enough. I've been around enough to know that most of them are child's play." Swift-Song nods.

"I know what you mean, trust me," she says dryly. "But I occasionally receive riddles from an anonymous donor, about once a week. They're tricky and intriguing. When I get this week's, would you like to give it a go?"

"Sure," answers Bracken, surprised by her kindness. But another thing nags at him, and he jumbles his phrases together. "Kendra – well, she's been acting odd ever since we came to this sanctuary. I – well – I'm eternally grateful for your service in expelling the Persian Leech, but I worry that there's more going on that she won't tell me. But I do not intend to invade her privacy again by reading her mind against her will."

Swift-Song sighs, "Bracken, that's humans for you. Especially human girls. The females, they have many hormones that confuse them and make them act like they're PMSing. Be patient, and things will end up right in the final. Trust me." She speaks with confidence, like she's sure of the future.

"You're very wise," admits Bracken. "Perhaps one of the wisest beings I've crossed paths with in a long time. Wiser than an average creature."

Swift-Song looks up at him calmly, as if daring him to object. "I'm a bit more than your average creature, you'll find."

Bracken nods, curious of her strange nature. "I believe you."

With a yawn, Kendra ducks out of the cave. "What're we talking about?" she asks, blinking sleep from her eyes. Bracken grins down at her messy appearance. "Nothing in particular."

"'K," she yawns. "Hey, Swift-Song, can we meet Sand-Heart and Thunder-Bolt today? They seemed nice."

"They're very nice," she laughs, "and they're waiting for when everybody's up to come over. That's them, on the distant horizon, dancing along the sunbeams and sprinting over the snow." Her voice dips. "As much as I'd love to keep Flash-Foot by my side for all of infinity, Sand-Heart is barren, and wants nothing more than children. They would make swell parents for Flash-Foot."

Kendra smiles. "Sounds good to me."

Alec, the standoffish bird he is, just randomly sets down on the top of the cave, causing a few clumps of snow to tumble down ungracefully. He doesn't say anything. In fact, he hardly looks up at all. The fallen astrid instead preens through his feathers, straightening and plucking his dark plumage. Kendra smiles and waves. Bracken tries not to scowl. Swift-Song just nods respectfully.

Fiona emerges next, and then Seth, slowly followed by everyone else. Vanessa the Blix is last, with no surprise there. She gripes to Warren endlessly. Bracken is under no means impatient, but he can't help but marvel on how well the human deals with her rants.

Kendra never leaves his side, something that pleases Bracken.

"Shall I call over Sand-Heart and Thunder-Bolt?" asks Swift-Song finally.

"Too late, my friends," laments a wolf voice from over the ridge. The yellow wolf, the one Bracken assumes to be Thunder-Bolt, jumps down with an easy smile. Along one of his front legs, jagged lines encircle his leg, vaguely resembling the forked points of lightning. "No laughing about the name, please; Thunder-Bolt is not something I would've chosen, thank you. But I guess it matches these awesome tattoos."

"He's whiny," warns Sand-Heart, following her mate down the slope while rolling her blue eyes. "Thunder-Bolt likes his beauty sleep, and doesn't like being woken up before noon."

"Says the one who was snoring like a pig all night!" barks Thunder-Bolt, looking at his mate sourly. "I'm surprised you didn't wake these guys up as well!"

"You're being ridiculous," scolds Sand-Heart, nipping his ear, "and rude to the travelers. Say hello, Thunder-Bolt, or so help me, you will not be able to sit down for a week."

"I could use a spanking," agrees Thunder-Bolt with a sly smile. Bracken raises an eyebrow at the explicit phrase, and Kendra tenses uncomfortably. Sand-Heart smacks his upside of the head with her paw, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry," she apologizes. "He's not on his best behavior right now…"

Flash-Foot pads from the den, shoulders squared and ears high, and she breaks off, smiling at the pup. "You're Aladdin's son, aren't you?" she asks sweetly, lowering her head to see at his level.

"That's me," agrees Flash-Foot with a toothy smile.

"I'm so sorry," she apologizes. "It sounds fake, I know. I'm going through so many condolences right now, with my brother and sister and such. It was so nice, how you offered to play with them, I couldn't help but pay you a visit."

Flash-Foot nods, eyes becoming sad. "I'm not sure what happened to my brother and sister," he comments thoughtfully, "but I'm pretty sure they're dead, like my dad and my mum. Maybe they were killed by a manticore, too. But I miss playing Zzyxz with them. Mum would be the Fairy Queen. My da would always play Gorgrog, and we would take turns killing him. It was funny then. It's not funny anymore."

They exchange a meaningful glance. Sand-Heart nods. Thunder-Bolt sinks down into the snow, looking Flash-Foot in the eye thoughtfully. "I'm not sure we could ever be as wonderful as your dad or your mum, and you won't have any siblings. But I'd sure like to give it a try, if you're willing." Flash-Foot gasps as Thunder-Bolt swallows nervously. "I've never been a dad," continues the yellow wolf with a smile, "but I'll do my best to play Gorgrog and take you for rides and do everything you want me to. That is, if you'll have me. If you'll have us."

Bracken holds his breath as Flash-Foot looks from wolf to wolf, blue eyes incomprehensible. When the pup finally speaks, his tone is exultant, and his tail moves a mile a minute. "Are you kidding me? This is so awesome! You'll not only be my dad, but my best friend too! This is so cool I don't even have words to describe it! And you're THUNDER-BOLT!" The pup rears up on his two hind legs with the beginning of the last sentence, pawing at the air, before falling over backwards at the wolf's name. "You're only, like, the fastest wolf in all of existence! Of course!"

The pup jump to his feet and runs over to Swift-Song. "Swift-Song! Swift-Song! I've got parents! I've got parents, Swift-Song!"

The mother wolf chuckles. "I can see that, little pup. Why don't you give your new mum a hug? I'm sure she'd love it." Flash-Foot takes a great flying leap onto Sand-Heart, who topples backwards with his pounce, chuckling happily. Tears run down her face, tears of untamed joy. Bracken can feel Kendra tearing up beside him, her emotions running wild.

Turning to Swift-Song, Sand-Heart whispers, "Thank you, Scribe. Thank you a million times. Thank you, you angel! Thank you so much!" Soon, her tail is wagging just as quickly as Flash-Foot's, thrashing in the snow.

Swift-Song smiles, but her expression is bittersweet. Bracken frowns at her. "It's what I do, sweetie. You'll be happy. Enjoy it."

* * *

Another happy family, filled with grins and hopes, another child, with so many impossible dreams that just seem possible at that age, another father, protecting his family with his valiant pride combined with his powerful courage, and another mother, brimmed with love and determination to keep her family uplifted.

Another family, doomed to end.

Thirteen days. Just thirteen days left. Cadeliah closes her eyes as she watches Thunder-Bolt carry her nephew away on his back, crushing her tears before they can escape. Just thirteen days now.

Thirteen days until the ending of so many lives.

Tick, tick, tick.

* * *

**Thirteen days… What has Cadeliah seen this time? Lol, just kidding, I'm not going to tell you! Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Flash-Foot is happy for the time-being, Sand-Heart finally has her child, and Thunder-Bolt is a proud father. Apparently, this is all going to end! Please review! **

**Thanks for all those that answered last chapter's poll! I got a whole two results: Swift-Song and Fiona. Brilliant. So if you don't mind hopping back to the other chapter and writing a review there, I'd love it! Might even give you a shout-out! **

**This poll is: Do you like Thunder-Bolt (his uncle is Thunder-Soul, by the way) and Sand-Heart? Did you like that they finally got a pup, and that Flash-Foot found parents? Please review with your answer, everything is appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Right, here we go! Sorry for the wait (as always)! Please enjoy! Remember if you leave useful review(s), I'll give you a special shout-out! Thank all of those that answered last time's poll! At the end of the fanfic, there will be another one (probably)! We'll see how this plays out!**

**Special shout-out to marshapono and their (almost creepy) insight! **

**Just remember I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING! :P Sorry that was written by my sister but I think I'll keep it…**

**Without further ado…**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Kendra lounges in the sunlight, keeping with the rhythmic breathing of Fiona. Engrossed in the book Swift-Song had lent her, she's almost forgotten all of the little pups sleeping around her, droning out all the diminutive snores.

Kendra lies at the base of a cliff wall, lying against Fiona's broad shoulder as the she-wolf slumbers. Fiona had been left to watch over the pups while their parents hunted for something to eat (Fiona had assured her that they didn't dare prey upon anything with an intelligence quota above twenty). Kendra had tagged along, eager to get to know the young teenage wolf better. Once the puppies had gotten over their excitement rush ("OH MY GOD! BRACKENDRA!"), they had been able to play a few games and tell some stories. Then they had nodded off to sleep around Fiona's warmth, and Fiona had followed suit.

Turns out, the surly she-wolf had just been distressed about her brother, and about a prom-like dance coming up. Fiona had explained to Kendra that all of her friends already had dates, and she hasn't been invited, although Fiona had admitted that might be cause to her somewhat disapproving attitude to the males.

The book Swift-Song had lent Kendra was focused on the adventure of another fairykind, but it had been written as a fantasy for most of the world and a biography for the others. Kendra, of course, is intrigued by the book. Swift-Song had explained that every fairykind has different abilities and different talents, the most useful thing anybody has ever told her (even though she's conversed with unicorns). Swift-Song had said she might not have much in common with the heroine of the story, Eliza, but it'd be best to keep an eye on some of the skills past fairykinds had received.

So far, the only thing Eliza and Kendra have in common is being able talk to fairies. Eliza could sprout wings on command, make dark creatures revert to light, sing like a fairy, and make plants grow. Which is pretty cool, truthfully, but not really relevant. Something that catches Kendra's eye, though, is that once in her life she ran into a wise old brown wolf that gave her a strange pearl. Eliza, not sure what the pearl could offer her, gave it up to pass into a sanctuary. Afterwards, the wolf had appeared next to her with the saddest eyes in the universe, as if Eliza had given up the wolf's only hope, and she never saw it again.

Brach wheezes on Kendra's lap, the runt of his fellows. He's not a very restful sleeper, twisting and turning with his dreams. Kendra can't help but wonder what a blind wolf might dream about, or if his thoughts have _color_. After all, he had never clapped eyes upon color, or even been able to hear about it, so is it possible that he doesn't even know that there's such thing as sight and pigment and light? Maybe his dreams are of scent and touch and warmth instead of actual vision. It must be a sad world, not knowing what the sun looks like, or the color of the grass beneath your feet, the only way to determine your surroundings the texture of the earth underneath you and the scent of the breeze that whips through your fur.

Kendra frowns. That was weird. For a split second, she'd been pretty spiritual.

Finally, Fiona rouses with a big toothy yawn. The wolves follow her example, awakening with undignified snorts and grunts, snarling to one another as they wake from their naps. And then everything's hullaballoo, a great mass of frenzied barks and yips as the pups play a friendly round of roughhousing. Brach sits on Kendra's lap and yelps them on in encouragement, his tail wagging like a miniature cyclone.

"You can go," grunts Fiona from underneath a mess of paws. "I don't expect you to sit through all of these pups' games."

Kendra smiles at the gruff she-wolf. "I'm not going to abandon you," she laughs. "No man should face this task alone!" A howl sounds in the distance, not like the simple bays used by wild wolves, but a few melodic notes flowing over each other like a creek over stones that makes every one of the wolves' ears prick.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to go our separate ways," sighs Fiona, rising and shaking a grey pup informally off her head. The girl lands with a surprised yelp. "Your unicorn's noticed your absence, and everyone's been thrown into a panic. Did you not tell everyone that you were coming with me?" She shakes her head in exasperation.

"Naughty Kendra," tsks Jhama. "You know how protective men get. First it's territorial, but then they get clingy…"

Kendra freaks out mentally. "Do you think I caused a big problem?"

"Nah, probably not." Fiona howls back at the other wolf. "See, they know we're coming now." She pauses to listen at the response. "Okay, we need to hurry. Five minutes, tops."

Kendra stares at Fiona. "That's three miles back into the heart of the clan. How are we going to cross three miles in five minutes?"

Fiona grins devilishly. She bows down, exposing her back, like an offering to Kendra. "Climb on, fairy girl. We're going for a ride."

* * *

Bracken wrings his hands, watching the horizon. "For god's sake," laughs Swift-Song, "relax, Bracken. Fiona is taking her this way right now. She'll be here in a matter of moments."

"I believe you," murmurs Bracken distractedly, eyes sweeping over the distance.

She studies him. "On a completely random subject, did you figure out the riddle?" questions Swift-Song, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. Caught off guard, Bracken blushes. He hadn't been able to make sense of the riddle, which had been formatted not only with words but objects. "No, unfortunately. I didn't understand what I was supposed to do, even with your hint."

Swift-Song had padded into her den beside Bracken, unraveled the package, taken a few good looks at the items it contained, and given Bracken a hint ("Oh, I'm hungry") before padding right back out without a second glance.

"No? Oh, this one was quite simple." Swift-Song pauses, taking a deep breath, before chatting away at the speed of light. "You were given a tattered book, six fruit, and a little slip of paper. So, you have the word 'Saint' written in English. Saint is English for the Spanish _santa_. But that's not what you should've looked at first. You should've looked at the fruit first. Why? Because that's what you should've done, that's why!

"But there are six fruit: a coconut, a star fruit, a durian, a mangosteen, a pomegranate, and an apple. Which one do you look at first? Well, the answer is the apple. But why study that one first, when compared to all of the other exotic options? Because it's the freshest, picked only hours ago. On first observation, there's nothing notable. But then you see the bruise, hidden along the side, it's shaped vaguely like an _M_.

"Then the mangosteen is the next ripest. It also has a bruise along the side, shaped exactly like an _O_. There's more to the fruit, a scratch near the stem, but we'll come back to it later. The coconut is next, with a dent the shape of an _N_. By this time, we start to see a pattern. Next is an _I_ on the star fruit. There's a _C_ on the durian. And finally, there's a distinctive A on the pomegranate.

"_Monica_. It spells _Monica_. Now, usually the letters would be scrambled, but that wasn't the case for this riddle. Right now we have Santa Monica, a place you have visited within the past five years, as I can tell from your facial response. But there's even more than that." Swift-Song briefly pauses for a breath, before rocketing away again.

"Also coming with the riddle is a cookbook titled 'Lunch Paradise for the Taste Buds,' which is a ridiculous name if I've ever heard one. There's a scratch underneath the word 'lunch' that's identical to the one on the mangosteen, even if it's a bit dilated. So far we have: Santa Monica Lunch.

"Now you flip through the book until you find on page three hundred, the PM Pizza, where a piece of the paper was torn away at the bottom. Now, if you'd held the slip of parchment used to write the word 'Saint' on it, they'd fit together perfectly. Underneath 'PM' in PM Pizza we have the same scratch mark, as well as underneath the 300 page number. In the ask the chef box in the corner, just the question mark has a scratch underlining it. In the sentence, 'Preheat the oven at 360 degrees,' the word _at_ is scratched. In the sentence, 'Flour: 3 cups,' the colon and just the colon is scratched. In the sentence, 'Place the dough in the preheated oven for thirty minutes,' the word _in_ is scratched.

"So that's the last of the clues. We simply have to piece them together. We have Santa Monica, at, a colon, in, 300, a question mark, lunch, and PM.

"When fixed properly, this states: 'Lunch at 3:00 in Santa Monica?' I actually went to a few of these meetings to be greeted with a no-show, so they're all fake and not to be worried about." Swift-Song ignores Bracken's awed stare, and says without missing a beat, "Oh, there's Kendra."

"That was incredible," whispers Bracken as Fiona canters up, a smiling Kendra rocking with her steps. Her grin is from ear to ear, her eyes filled with glee, but Bracken can't tear himself away from staring, dumbstruck, at Swift-Song. Kendra swings off of Fiona like one may dismount a horse.

"I'll say!" laughs Kendra cheerfully. "Wolves are fast! I don't want to look in a mirror any time soon, but that was the most fun I've had here yet! Fiona reached speeds I didn't think were possible with a hefty passenger!"

"You're not hefty," scoffs Bracken, dismissing Swift-Song's intelligence for a moment. Kendra rolls her eyes, placing a hand on Fiona's heaving shoulder.

"To you, maybe not," laughs Kendra, a musical sound that almost sends a shiver through Bracken. "Have you noticed that you're like, the only one with any interest in me whatsoever? And even that's waning. No, I'm pretty hefty."

"You are not!" explodes Bracken, guilty that she's even thinking this way. Maybe that's why he likes her so much more than any other human; she doesn't know her beauty, but acts kind and gracious anyway. "Kendra, let me explain something to you: there is a reason that the wolves are too abashed to approach you."

Both Fiona and Swift-Song turn to look at Bracken with narrowed eyes as he struggle to continue. "Maybe not to a fellow human's eye, but to one that has been around long enough, you are the most beautiful thing in all of the world, like a jewel of the greatest value and luster. No, a fellow human simply cannot appreciate your beauty, because that is part of whom they are as much as I am a unicorn. But I can see your beauty, and you outshine the sun, dear Kendra, with your loveliness and splendor. I have searched the world thousands of times, walked for decades on end without pausing, and seen so, so many people, but never before have I ever met anyone quite like you, Kendra Sorenson, with all of your kindness and unselfish behavior. You're a queen among humanity. It's why I love you."

There's a moment of silence that makes Bracken tense up. Had he been too frank? Had he been too strange? Bracken reviews his speech, but can only find things to add, not to subtract. If anything, he had not been vivid enough explaining her wonder. Worry builds until Kendra throws her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. Bracken stumbles back a bit, shocked to experience the passion emanating from the fairykind girl, and to feel her eyes on the verge of tears against his flesh.

"Thank you," she whispers, voice strained with emotion. "That was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Bracken chuckles, enfolding his arms around Kendra and breathing in her musty human scent. "Then you obviously haven't met many beings that deserve your attention."

Swift-Song and Fiona glance at each other with warm smiles, and back away slowly, very subtly giving Bracken and Kendra some privacy. He can also sense the presence of all the pups shadow-walking to spy on his gorgeous fairy princess, and can't resist smiling.

"I can't disappoint our audience," Bracken explains as he pulls away from Kendra. She looks up at him with a question, brow furrowed, but Bracken cuts off whatever she had been about to say with a light kiss.

It's nothing much, not lasting more than a few seconds, but everyone hidden gasps and giggles to one another. Bracken subconsciously hears, "Brackendra."

When he pulls away regretfully, Bracken is remarkably satisfied. More satisfied than he's been in centuries, as if Kendra is his missing puzzle piece, another half of him that's been lost for countless millennia on end. Bracken can see the same contentment in Kendra's expressive green eyes staring up at him.

Bracken tries to blot out the way that Seth glares at Bracken from atop Swift-Song's back as they trots away, over the horizon and into the distance.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" asks Seth, watching as open plains and rocky canyons fade into creepy overgrown forests from Swift-Song's back. The wolf glances up at him, rolling her eyes almost back into her skull with the extreme movement.

"We're going to meet an old friend of mine," answers the wolf with her wise-and-ancient tone of voice. "He knows much about what you call Shadow-Charmers, and has helped a few past stragglers unleash their true abilities."

"Hold it," objects Seth, "this guy knows about Shadow-Charmers? And did you call me a straggler?"

"Yes on both accounts. You can, what, shade-walk or shadow-walk or whatever they're calling it these days, and speak demonic languages? You haven't improved much within the past three years, so you need a jumpstart. Don't worry, Chaos will go easy on you."

"What kind of mother names their child Chaos?" inquires Seth incredulously. "Not really something someone would say holding a newborn baby, is it?"

"He called himself that. Chaos has no recollection of his family. He only remembers running with the wolves."

"Uh, okay," Seth laughs uncertainly.

"Don't worry," consoles Swift-Song, "we're almost there."

They don't speak again until Swift-Song reaches a dismal clearing with spectral fog billowing about. The woods are so dark Seth can't see beyond the first row of trees encircling the creepy meadow. The grass seems dark, almost blue, and the once sunny sky is overcast with a layer of cold grey clouds. "We are here, Chaos!" announces Swift-Song, motioning for Seth to slide off.

How do you dismount a wolf? Seth slides off, but loses his footing and almost falls like an idiot. Apparently, that's not how you dismount a wolf. Eagerly, his eyes sweep his surroundings for another Shadow-Charmer-guy, but all he can see is a wolf with in a cloak.

If you've never seen a wolf in a cloak, well, it's a lot creepier than a puppy in a jacket. The wolf has white fur with dark grey stripes along his muzzle and crossing his spine down until his shoulders. The rest of his pelt is hidden by the undulating dark cloak, which is held with a blue opal clasp at the base of his neck. His eyes are centered inside two dark dapples matching the stripes down his pelt, and his irises an odd violent purple shade.

"Swift-Song," he purrs with a deep voice, richer and fuller than any human ability. "Is this he?"

"This is Seth Sorenson," declares Swift-Song, nudging Set forward with a prod from the tip of her long muzzle. "He wishes to study under your teachings until he has discovered more of his internal powers."

The wolf narrows his eyes. Seth realizes that this is Chaos with a shock. Okay, well, why not? Next there's going to be wolf unicorns frolicking through the forest and stabbing people with their horns… And "Chaos" makes more sense for a wolf than a person.

"I would like to hear it from the boy," purrs Chaos, closing his eyes to sinister amethyst slits. Seth bows crisply, before saying, "Mister Chaos, sir, I think it would be totally awesome to learn how to do Shadow-Charmer things and become a proper" – he hesitates – "Child of the Wolf."

"You already are a Child of the Wolf," laughs Chaos, a sound like the menacing rumble of thunder booming through the clouds. "A Child of the Wolf is simply a title for renowned Shadow-Charmers. Wolves are typically like humans in the regard that they can fall in either direction, light or dark, and remain with their ideas and beliefs and such without being evil or good. However, a much more exercised choice is that of darkness, because it has so much more to offer. Those that go all the way, like you or me, are called Children of the Wolf because we followed the path of darkness until its very end."

"Oh." That's the best response Seth can formulate.

"I will teach you," decides Chaos indifferently. "You have much potential, and it would be a shame to see all of that talent go to waste." Seth perks up.

"You'll teach me? Cool!"

Chaos nods crisply. "Your training begins tomorrow. I expect to see you bright and early and well-rested. None of those ridiculous parties that Fiona hosts, understand? A full night's sleep. Enjoy your stay."

A breeze whisks through the clearing. Chaos lifts his head up, breathes in deeply, and dissipates into a plume of fog. Seth's jaw drops open as the empty cloak flutters to the ground, and the mist drifts off, carried by the wind.

"Chaos always did have a knack for dramatic exits," laughs Swift-Song heartedly. "He would've done well in theatre, I believe. Shall we be off?"

Seth stares at her. "How long were you planning on keeping the fact that he's a wolf silent?"

Swift-Song shrugs, crouching and allowing Seth to awkwardly clamber up. "You never asked."

"Fair point," chuckles Seth, sinking into the jockey position Swift-Song had taught him to assume and grabbing handfuls of her thick fur to use as handles. "It's pretty cool, though. I didn't think wolves could become Shadow-Charmers."

"For the longest time, nobody knew humans could become Shadow-Charmers," counters Swift-Song. "It was before my time, of course, that the first non-wolf Child of the Wolf entered the world, but I've heard so many stories."

"What was his – or her – name?" asks Seth, intrigued.

"Lucifer. He wasn't a very outgoing fellow, but apparently he had lots of wit to make up for it."

Seth mulls over this. There's so much people don't know about, so much people are going to erase from their own precious history if they keep on slaughtering these wolves. Because, god knows, their knowledge dies with them. So much history would end with the destruction of this fine race, and so many secrets that would die. Tales of the beginning and of their gods and goddesses and all sorts of theories about time and science and the beauty of their songs and the organization of their ranks would die.

Seth shivers, and hugs himself just a bit closer to Swift-Song as she begins her sprint through the woods.

* * *

Thirteen days left. Oh, the poor children. Thirteen days.

* * *

"Still puzzling over the riddle?" calls a chuckle. Bracken straightens, somewhat embarrassed to have been caught, but maintains his dignity as he turns around to see Thunder-Soul, the Lord of Peak Clan, smiling at him kindly. He nods bashfully.

"Don't worry, she does that to all of us," sighs the grey wolf, sinking to the ground at Bracken's feet; the motion's not exactly friendly, but more like relaxed. "Silly old Swift-Song and her rooms filled with books and that mind with the gears always a-turning." He glances up at Bracken. "You haven't tried to read her mind yet, have you?"

"No."

"Don't," grunts Thunder-Soul, shifting. "Last time a unicorn gave it a shot, he was in our infirmary for weeks, babbling random theories on magic and time and mathematical equations and heaven knows what else. The poor fellow was apparently expecting a normal wolf mind."

"What did he find?" asks Bracken, perturbed that any wolf's thoughts could disable a unicorn.

Thunder-Soul sighs. "Most creatures just have one thought process, one state of being. Swift-Song has three. Well, technically four, since there's a separate section for emotions and body movements. It almost drove the poor unicorn mad. Imagine that, just for a second, Bracken: three different minds, three different though processes, three different brains compacted into one, all vying for dominance inside of her head, each as intelligent and powerful as the last. It must be maddening. And yet it's only softened her further, created an individual of immense compassion and forgiveness. It makes one prone to self-reflection wonder: if a being as great in experience and wisdom as her is as kind as an inexperienced pup which doesn't know better than to love everyone she comes across, when in fact she has walked so many roads dragons bow as she passes. So many beings of great cunning and smarts have become hardened to the world, and yet the queen of them all is the kindest being in all of existence. To me, it means that there's so much more to this world that you and I, Bracken, so much more than us dull, normal beings simply can't grasp about the ground beneath our tread or the air we inhale every single day. It is why I would give up my life for Swift-Song, or any single one of her family. Because they are so much greater than I."

Bracken stares at the grey wolf, which seems lost in thought, eyes roaming over the cave den walls. Swift-Song is almost worshipped by this wolf. With a start, he wonders if this is how he acts around Kendra. If so, he wouldn't have it any other way. He looks up at the little hatch in the ceiling, admiring the dust caught in the beam of sunlight.

"Oh, Thunder-Soul, you are more right than you know." Bracken closes his eyes. He, too, would give his life. But not for Swift-Song. For Kendra Sorenson, his own wonderful sun.

* * *

"So be it," sighs Cadeliah to herself, before walking away from the den, wearied by the fate riding on her shoulders.

* * *

**Alright, things are falling into place, and Cadeliah is only getting sadder! Thank you, the one person (Guueeessst) that answered last chapter's poll! Please answer this one! **

**POLL: How well did I write Cadeliah's immense and powerful intelligence? Does she strike you as kind or selfish or what? Any suggestions to improve her character are appreciated!**

**Wolfluvermh, out!**


	16. Chapter 15

**DUN DUN DUN! I'm back! For those of you that asked, yes, Eliza the Fairykind actually existed in real life. That's gone into more detail in this chapter, don't worry. This is also a very awkward chapter for Bracken, so let's have a moment of silence for our friend the unicorn. *_***

**700 VIEWS! YOU PEOPLE ROCK!**

**Let's roll!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

Twelve days left, soon to be eleven. Cadeliah watches as the topaz sun sinks below the horizon from her position atop the rocky crag towering over her den, mourning the loss of another day. It had flown by, but she's almost certain the thought has been planted in their minds. Wolves are good. Wolves are the victims.

Warren and Thunder-Bolt had become the best of friends, nearly inseparable. Vanessa and Kendra seem to have a growing attachment to her own daughter, Fiona. Bracken and Thunder-Soul get along well, a rather strange acquaintance. Berry-Fur, the closest pack's healer, and Tanu had enjoyed long conversations discussing potions and such. Seth and Chaos are hard to judge, because of the striped wolf's lack of emotion, but they complement each other.

Cadeliah sighs and hops down from her rocky ledge. Twelve days.

* * *

Seth tries his best not to glare at the unicorn, keeping his facial emotions in check. He can't do much about the stuff Bracken can feel through the air, but that's not his concern at the moment. It had taken all day, Seth thinks he was purposefully avoiding him, but finally, he has Bracken alone to confront him about his sister.

"Ah, hey Seth," greets Bracken awkwardly. "I assume you've got something to ask me?"

Seth tilts his head. He's trying to appear scary and cool and controlled like Chaos had lectured him about, but it's just not in his nature. He shifts, trying to stay collected. "You like Kendra. A lot."

Bracken returns Seth's gaze calmly. "Yes. Who would not?"

"Okay," consents Seth. "I'm okay with your liking her, I'm okay with you dating her, and all that stuff. But I have to know, just for a peace of mind. It's going to be awkward to ask, for both you and me." Bracken looks at him funny. Seth clears his throat and then blurts, "Do unicorns have hormones?"

Bracken is quiet for a good thirty seconds. He frowns, and rolls back onto his heels. "We do, Seth, but not… human hormones. They aren't focused on… _reproduction,_ for lack of a better word. Our hormones are mostly protective instincts, to guard the ones we love until the very end. Not… not… just _not_. It may be why there's a shortage of unicorns at the moment, our lack of… reproductive instincts and drives, but I promise, I will not get Kendra pregnant unless she is… my wife. I swear it."

Seth narrows his eyes, but nods slowly. That makes a bit of sense. "Sorry for asking that. I know it was awkward."

Bracken smiles forgivingly, handsome face so easily displaying his emotions. "She's your sister, Seth. You have every right to know."

* * *

"Here's your book back," pipes up Kendra, afraid to break the silence. Swift-Song had been rotating from her microscope to her books to her inkwell and scroll at the speed of light, switching the microscope's slides hurriedly, and acting like she was dealing with something of utmost importance. Swift-Song jumps three feet in the air and nearly knocks over a test tube filled with glowing liquid. She breathes out once she realizes it's only Kendra.

"Goodness, child," laughs Swift-Song shakily, breathing heavily, "you caught me on unawares. Did you enjoy Eliza's tales?"

"Sorry!" apologizes Kendra, still feeling intrusive on her personal privacy. "But I loved it, a lot. I hope one day I'll be able to be as useful as her. She was a real person, right, and not just some fictional character?"

Swift-Song smiles. "Yes, Eliza was a real person. I knew her myself, however briefly our acquaintance was. The book was based off of her diary when found in an attic and written down by a mortal human. It's a little exaggerated and silly in some parts, but mostly accurate and almost completely true."

Kendra mulls on that for a few seconds. "How come I've never heard of her?"

"There was a time before the Fairy Kingdom," explains Swift-Song, gingerly taking the book in her mouth and muffling her speech, "where the main domain of light was gifted to a nearly extinct species known as angels. They much resemble the astrids the Fairy Queen keeps as her royal guard. Any unicorn of immense power back then could create a handmaiden, and Eliza was simply made by mistake. That was one area the book fudged a bit on. Anyway, most of the powerful light creatures fell with the Angel Reign."

"Wow. I didn't know there was anyone before the Fairy King and Queen, but I guess that makes sense. What happened to them? The angels, I mean?"

Swift-Song turns around and looks Kendra in the eye, deadly serious. It's hard to look grave while holding a book in your mouth, but Swift-Song can pull it off. "They upset the balance and grew power-hungry. They had to be eliminated. The wolves helped initially with the toppling to keep the balance, but quickly switched sides once they realized that the vampires were going for all-out extermination. I was but a pup at the time, but our Soul-Bearer, Armund, harnessed the power of the wolf soul to save a valued few of their race."

Kendra shivers, following Swift-Song as she skampers out of the lab and into a ginormous room filled with books. "I have no clue how you can talk about that so easily to a human." Her jaw drops at the first sight of the room, wiping every thought of the conversation from her.

The other room, Swift-Song's laboratory, had contained a few scientific looking books in dignified teakwood bookcases along with all of her scrolls and equipment and bottles of various pickled things. But this room is like a library, except completely and utterly immense, with twelve-foot cherry wood bookcases extending all the way to the ceiling, and stretching on in a maze of lanes and aisles. Gilded with metal letters identifying the book's alphabetical placement, the wood used to make the cases is polished and smooth, as if someone places a lot of care in this old place. It smells like ink and old paper, a delectable aroma to Kendra. There's no actual lighting, it's just well-lit with plenty of light to read by. Paintings of the constellations and of the sun and of two owls twist around on the ceiling, moving as if copying the night sky so far above the cozy cavern.

Swift-Song slips the book into its compartment and says, "Oh, it wasn't your fault."

"Huh?"

"The Soul-Stone, remember? I can get lost in this labyrinth, too, but keep your head out of the clouds, Kendra!" She shakes her head, and looks back at Swift-Song. "It wasn't anyone's fault, Kendra. Just an accident. If it was anyone's fault, it was foolish Cadeliah's." Her voice is bitter, but immeasurably sad at the same time.

Kendra narrows her eyes. This is the moment of truth. Choosing her words carefully, Kendra steps forward and lies a hand on her withers, murmuring, "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Swift-Song's head snaps up, but she doesn't really seem surprised. A tender smile curls the edges of her lips, but the sadness in her eyes only grows. "So," she whispers, "you've finally guessed my secret, Kendra Sorenson. I was wondering how long it'd take you."

Kendra grins, triumphant, but then frowns. "How come none of the others can see it?"

"I made it up," Swift-Song claims with a gleam in her eye. "It's like a distractor spell, but it distracts you from a certain thought or idea instead of a physical objection. You, of course, are almost completely resistant to the spell. But Kendra, dear, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course," answers Kendra automatically.

"Don't call me by my true name, please," asks Swift-Song, or Cadeliah. "Try to avoid thinking about it, too. It would break the spell. I'm quite alright with you knowing my burden if you keep tight lips, but I prefer being a commoner to a celebrity…"

Kendra mimes locking her lips and throwing away a key. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you, child," sighs Swift-Song, closing her eyes for a second.

"Do you know who has the Soul-Stone currently?" questions Kendra, fascinated by the old wolf. "Are you really as intelligent as they say? Can you really see the future? I'm sorry about Aladdin, by the way. He seemed nice."

"He was nice," chuckles Swift-Song, beginning to walk between the shelves and motioning for Kendra to follow suit. "The best big brother a pup could ask for. I do know who has the Soul-Stone at this precise moment, but" – an ironic smile curls her lips – "you'll find out in the near future for yourself. On that matter, yes, I can see the future. Am I intelligent? I guess that's one word for it."

Kendra runs her fingers along the leather spines of the books as she passes, brimming with passionate rapture for the musty library. "Why did you build such a large library here if you might have to move again?"

Swift-Song chortles. "The Library moves with me. It's very difficult to explain, but the Library almost has a mind of its own, tagging along to my life force and moving to different underground locations as I move. Every book in all of creation thus far is located in one of these hallways, you know. I built it well, if I do say so myself. If you know the proper code, it goes under impenetrable lockdown. Fiona and I have escaped more than one massacre that way. Time also speeds up in here, so I can spend hours on end in my laboratory working or writing down theories in my library or re-reading Pride and Prejudice while only a fraction of the time passes in reality."

"That is so cool," whispers Kendra, admiring the garnished furnishings. They arrive in a little cross-section, a circular gap between aisles with lanes leading out like spokes on a bicycle wheel. It's filled with an elaborate red and bronze rug, and plenty of cushy memory-foam beanbags. A desk holds thousands of scrolls and books and a computer with the bubbles screensaver running.

"You're welcome to come anytime you like," offers Swift-Song, glancing at Kendra's adoring eyes. "I find that the Library's a brilliant place to think. You can get lost in the aisles, but if you ever do, simply say so aloud and it will guide you back to your entrance. You can use the laptops strategically placed throughout the building to call books to you. My only request is that you be polite to other Library guests, but I hardly doubt that will be a problem with you."

Kendra stares up at the wolf. "There's other people here?"

Swift-Song chuckles, and shakes her head. "Kendra, books are meant to be read. Of course there are other people here. From time to time, the Fairy King himself used to stop by and browse when he needed a bit of downtime. Those were the golden days, of course, but I have a feeling that this old thing won't be around much longer…"

"What do you mean?" questions Kendra, but she's interrupted by an elegant white owl. It has the purest white feathers, giving the ethereal bird an angelic appearance which is only enhanced by its halo of light. Along its back and ringing its heart-shaped face is golden plumage, although just scarce metallic flecks. A deepest black, its eyes are unreadable and the most expressive things Kendra's ever seen at the same time.

"Excuse me," she purrs, hovering with graceful arches of her white wings. "I didn't mean to interfere with anything, but can you point me in the direction of the fiction novels?"

"Of course, Cassandra," replies Swift-Song with a respectful dip of her head. She tilts her head to the right, spitting out directions. "Go down thataway for ten minutes, and you'll reach the blue sitting room. Turn down the aisle marked with a dragon, and keep going until you reach the fiction lobby. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!" craws Cassandra, swooping around with a curl of her golden talons. Kendra blinks, frowning, sure that there's something familiar about that owl…

"Cassandra is Zia's sister," chuckles Swift-Song, obviously noting Kendra's thoughts. "She loves the Library almost as much as I."

Kendra's mouth falls open. "Zia's sister is an owl?"

"From time to time, Cassandra assumes an owl avatar, if that's what you mean. I can understand why. It's a glorious thing, flight." A wistful note enters her melodic voice. "Cupping the wind underneath your feathers, navigating through the air currents, the moist clouds leaving a trail in your wake as you dart and dive through the sky. You feel immortal. Oh, Kendra, if only you could feel it!" She sighs happily.

"I wish I could, too," states Kendra lamely, wishing Swift-Song would stop baiting her with impossible things like wings.

Swift-Song turns to her, a strangely mischievous sparkle glinting in her mismatched eyes. "Would you like too?"

* * *

Thunder-Soul sits beside Bracken, his fur warming him against the cold. Of course, his companion's pelt can't completely ward off the impending chill of starlight atop the snowy mountain. Thunder-Soul had been right about one thing, though; the view from this overhanging ledge is marvelous. He can see the distant Evertree Forest, and the tiny figures of all the wolves bustling about. He can see the shapes of the astrids dancing through the clouds. He can see the main howler leading her circular dance and chorus to the right, and see the main crowd of socializing wolves to the left of them.

"Thank you for backing up Kendra yesterday when she was being confronted by Jade-Eye," articulates Bracken, glancing at Thunder-Soul, trying to create a conversation. He's perfectly fine in the quiet, of course, but that's just a unicorn thing, not a wolf.

Thunder-Soul bows his head. "It was my pleasure. Jade-Eye has been giving me trouble for years. My reaction to her scorn was partially me getting fed up with all of her bullying throughout the seasons, I'll admit. But I especially didn't like that she was scoffing my guest."

"You gave her a piece of your mind," chuckles Bracken, remembering the vicious claw marks marring the right side of the rebel's face. Thunder-Soul nods gravely.

"She would not back down. I was not willing to risk an all-out fight occurring and possibly putting Kendra in peril, so I stemmed the adrenaline pumping in their veins while it could be easily contained. I'm sure you would understand."

"I have done similar things in my days as prince," agrees Bracken. "The fact still remains, though: you assisted Kendra while I was unable to. I am undoubtedly indebted to you."

"With the events coming to pass, I may have to take you up on that," says Thunder-Soul grimly, but he doesn't exaggerate, and Bracken hasn't a chance to ask.

The snow swirls as a bronze blur whips past them, making a very familiar, "AHHHH!" noise as she passes. Bracken winces at the sudden light radiating from the shape. Then a panicked, "Flap, Kendra, flap!" from somewhere high above Bracken's head. The brown whirl darts back into the air, joining three other hovering figures twenty feet in the air with somewhat less dignified strokes of her huge feathered wings. In the distance, the astrids pause in their dance through the clouds to zip over.

"Kendra?" whispers Bracken in disbelief, studying the figure soaring uncoordinatedly through the sky. He can easily make out her chestnut hair being tossed around by the winds, framing her round face and bright green eyes. Her wings are like a falcon's, except they're a coppery bronze flecked with white and gold. She dips and dives, slowly getting the hand of her wings. He also identifies Thunder-Bolt, Flash-Foot, and Sand-Heart pitching through the air.

"Kendra wanted to fly," explains Swift-Song from behind Bracken, making him jump, "so, I gave her wings. It's quite remarkable how adept Flash-Foot can fly with his, considering he's never been in the sky before. Maybe that was his reflection's message…"

"Swift-Song," greets Thunder-Soul, nodding his head. "I take it that's there's some way to remove the spell you placed on Kendra and my nephew's family?"

Swift-Song's eyes twinkle merrily. "Let's just say they better be back on the ground in an hour."

Bracken frowns. "Kendra on the land was bad enough. Who knows what havoc she's going to wreak in the air?" Something cold and wet hits him in the back of the head. "Hey!" Kendra shouts. "I'm armed! More of that and you'll get it!"

"Sorry!" Bracken calls up, before turning to Swift-Song. "An hour of Kendra lobbing snowballs at people's heads?"

Swift-Song opens her mouth and then closes it, nodding grimly. "I think we all might need to take cover."

* * *

**So, Kendra is in on the big secret! A little bit of Bracken's, uh, existence has been revealed, and people are completely at ease with their presence. **

**But things are changing!**

**This chapter's poll is: should Seth and Chaos become buds or enemies? I can write either way, it's just I'd love some opinion!**


	17. Chapter 16

**This is just a time-lapse chapter, just skim over it and you'll do fine! Sorry for the shortness!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Eleven days, and time passing quicker every second. Tick, tick, tick. Something minor will happen on day eight, and something major on day seven, and something even more important will happen on the sixth.

Tick, tick, tick.

* * *

Kendra smiles at Brach, playing with his fur. The puppy's chewing on a bone in her lap, his teeth making cracking noises with every bite. His red mouth licks at the dead ivory, gnawing on the toy with abandon.

She herself is leaning on Bracken, and his fingers play with her hair. Kendra isn't sure how long they've been there, but she honestly doesn't care. It could've been centuries, and she wouldn't have cared. Here in their patch of sunlight, sitting on a bed of lush grass, with the breeze rustling their hair and filling their nostrils with the fragrance of wildflowers.

Kendra's own little paradise.

* * *

Ten days, and creeping ever closer. Only ten days. How short life is. How brilliant are humans and their petty hopes? How wonderful are their resilient spirits? Can it be possible for one to imitate their sense of ignorance to pass through her final days.

No, she doesn't want to be ignorant. She wants to face her demise with a courageous air, wants to meet Death at long last as not a victim but an equal. She is going to die, but not as a prey of war.

Cadeliah will die as its ender.

* * *

"Again," snarls Chaos, landing light on his feet, the fog rippling at his feet. Panting, Seth gets up from the ground, sweat soaking his clothing. He nudges at the edge of the scratch the gruff zebra-wolf had given him. It's not bad. Grabbing the hilt of the sword Chaos had provided from the ground, Seth readies himself once more.

"Focus," hisses Chaos. "Picture a frightening version of yourself, and try to project it. Make me afraid, Seth. You're not doing a very good job of it, if I do say so myself…" His stripes shimmer, always on the verge of fading into the shadows. Purple eyes glare balefully at Seth. "What is that modern saying? Oh, yes. Come at me, bro."

Seth tightens his grip on the sword, and charges at the wolf.

* * *

Bracken smiles as Swift-Song pads past him, two of her pups hanging with their fangs buried in either ear, dangling like earrings. She smiles back, but doesn't pause to make conversation, briskly trotting in the direction of the den. Warren follows her, with an amazed look on his face. Bracken's grin broadens at the sight of his friend from the Living Mirage.

"That wolf," Warren whispers, shaking his head, "is like canine Jesus and Sherlock Holmes combined. Jeesh."

"She's definitely something special," agrees Bracken, watching her figure disappear over the horizon. Fiona comes up behind Warren, a smirk plastered across her face. "Oh, if you only knew the half of it."

* * *

Nine days. Cadeliah quivers, holding her pups to her. They don't understand, poor things. Poor, poor things. Such terror awaits, such horror, and such pain. Misery. Anger. Depression. Her poor, poor pups.

Nine days. Tick, tick, tick.

* * *

Tatiana admires the gleam of the moonlight along her silver talons. So beautiful. Such a pity not all could understand the beauty in the night. Such a pity. So many lives…

"Stehang, Firsuian!" calls Tatiana with her lilting voice. Two owls with cruel black armor linked together by heavy chains alight besides her, silent as shadows. Their claws are covered by rusting metal sheathes, glinting brutally in the soft light.

"Boys," she purrs, placing a wing on each of their ebony shoulders. "I've got a task for you."

The two astrid rebels look up at her through their spiked metal helmets with dark, determined eyes. Their beaks jut out through the iron, each stained crimson.

"Boys," she continues, closing her eyes, savoring each word. "Boys, a certain prissy queen you and I know very well has allowed, not only her handmaiden, but her _son_ out into the world without adequate protection." Both of them straighten, beaks clacking together apprehensively and talons clicking on the rocks. "Do you know what that means, boys? It means that auntie Tatiana is paying the Fairy Prince a visit."

The clacking and clicking loudens. Such a pity that the Fairy Queen removed their ability to speak physically or telepathically. "And I haven't even gotten to the best part yet, boys!" Eager silence. "The Fairy Prince has fallen for the fairykind!" Awed silence. "I've seen it myself, boys! Oh, he's head over heels for her. It would absolutely torture him if something were to happen to his precious little girl…" Deep, throaty noises echo from the astrids, cruel chuckles.

"Be patient, boys," cackles Tatiana. "All good things come to those who wait…"

* * *

The eighth day. Truth shall be revealed. The eighth day.

* * *

**(Stop skimming here)**

"You probably are wondering why I've gathered you here," thrums Alec from Zia's shoulder. Seth laughs as Zia totally just smacks the bird off her shoulder, leaving Alec a crumpled mess on the floor. They definitely have a different relationship.

"That was my line!" she complains.

Swift-Song and her pups had filed out of the den to give Zia and the "Fablehaven Questers," as they are now being called, some privacy. The wind outside howls, still audible from safely inside the den. The window in the ceiling had been closed, the stained glass sending colorful lights along the floor and on Zia's pale face. Her choppy hair hangs greasily around her face, which Seth can now see resembles the uneven patterning of feathers, and her bright yellow eyes reflect the filtered light.

"Alright," she asserts, "back on topic. We've been here for a few days, made friends, trained a bit, had fun, la di dah, I honestly don't care. Now we've got to become re-focused on the quest. I'm here to tell you about the earth's eternal protectors or whatever their exact words were."

Zia swallows. Kendra tentatively raises her hand. The astrid-girl narrows her eyes, but nods pensively. "I think I've already figured it out," Seth's sister quavers. "I don't want to hear it again. Do you mind if I go and read in the Library?"

Zia smiles, actually displaying emotion. But it's a sad sort of smile, like she's taking pity on Kendra. "Of course, honey. Feel free to curl up with a good book. I'll fetch you when we're finished here. Bracken, stay."

Bracken frowns, but Seth sees his eyes follow Kendra as she slips out the back entrance of the den's cavern. The unicorn settles back, leaning against the wall with a disapproving frown. "So, what are you hiding, Zia? What's upsetting Kendra?"

"I've noticed her discomfort before," adds Tanu. "She seems careful and sad when speaking to the creatures of this preserve, as if she's committing an act of treason. It's odd, but until right now, I haven't thought much of it."

Zia shifts. Her black wings are tucked safely on her back, folded into tiny obsidian teardrops. "Kendra can see past the mental distractor spell I placed on the knowledge. I learned it from Cadeliah. Maybe if she allows it, I'll show you how, Bracken. She's been carrying this for a while, poor kid."

"What?" demands Seth. "Stop baiting us!"

Zia turns to Seth, looking more sinister than anything she's ever managed. "The eternal protectors. Who's always protecting everyone, who is the one that hesitates to take the life of even a squirrel to vanquish their own hunger, who is the one that, although they've faced so much torture, they endure with a smile on their faces?"

Bracken looks like he's been slapped. "No."

"Yes," growls Alec grimly, stepping out of the shadows as a human-bird thing. "The _wolves_ are the eternal protectors of the world. Seth's task is to bring the hides of seven _wolves_ to the Singing Sister."

* * *

Kendra runs her finger along the bound books, savoring the scent of magic and books hanging in the air. She's completely alone. Once, she saw a weird striped wolf, but he hadn't even glanced at her, padding through the aisles with a mysterious sense of business and elegance to him. Another time, a golden wolf with fur that literally sparkled gold. He had smiled and greeted her, but nothing more.

She would love to stay here forever, tucked away with all the books in the universe. If she could have three wishes, a library of her own like this would be the very first. Bracken would be the second, of course. But there's something about the Library that Kendra adores in a way that's not lovey-dovey or sappy. The timelessness intrigues her. She's not sure how long she's been wandering through the halls. It feels like a long time, but it's probably only been five minutes. Besides, Zia will get her when it's time to leave.

But it's not time to leave. Not yet. So Kendra pulls a book out of a shelf at random, something with a green and gold cover, and plops down on a beanbag, prepared to read all of her troubles away until there's nothing left to fear.

* * *

"Goodbye, sun," whispers Cadeliah, eyes trained on the last ray of light. Thunder-Soul shifts besides her, glancing at her oddly. His grey eyes flash with concern. They sit upon her ledge lumbering above her den. She knows what Zia planned to discuss; she saw the conversation through one of the Time-Trances she's been suffering through recently. And, if she focuses, she can hear the drone of voices so far beneath her, arguing and dismissing.

"What is wrong?" breathes Thunder-Soul, his worry wrenching Cadeliah back to the present.

"Nothing is wrong," says Cadeliah simply, turning to him, trying to shield her eyes from her sadness but not completely succeeding. "It's just that the seventh day begins. Welcome to hell, my love."

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! Sorry for the short chapter and the (maybe-kinda-sorta) cliffhanger! I'm going to visit my grandparents for a week, and they live somewhere in rural Virginia with no WiFi, so I'm not going to be able to update again for a while. I'm sorry! Please review while I'm AWOL! **

**The eighth day begins… that can't be good. Oh, I'm so evil I feel bad. **

**This chapter's poll: chicken nuggets. Do you like em or hate em? Please input! Everything is valuable to me!**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the long wait! Kendra's creepy nightmare that woke her up on the night she first found out Zia is half-astrid is finally going to be looked into. You guys chose Chaos and Seth to be enemies, so I'm keeping with it. **

**What else can I say? Thank you, everybody. **

**The seventh day has arrived.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

"Bracken?" questions Swift-Song from besides him, making the unicorn jump. He'd been lost, watching Kendra as she laughed along with the wolf pups with Brach cradled in her lap, wondering how long she'd known about Seth's quest.

"Yes?" he asks, looking kindly at the clever scribe.

"Ah, was I interrupting something?" chuckles Swift-Song, winking at Bracken. "Don't worry, I won't spill to the media."

Bracken's puzzled. "Why would you do that?"

Swift-Song breathes out slowly, eyes flying up to the darkening sky. "Kendra… Kendra has a difficult past, Bracken, and a difficult future."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, pop culture among wolves has taken pity on her." She glances at him in question. "Do you really know so little of Kendra's past?"

"Unfortunately, yes," admits Bracken. "I know very little of what happened before I came into the picture. Care to enlighten me, since you know so much?"

Swift-Song sighs. "The poor child. She was only thirteen, you know, when the witch Muriel forced her to become fairykind and thrust her into an unwanted destiny. At that young age, she faced death and demons, and defeated them. Things were good for a while. And then, her brother, Seth, awoke Olloch the Glutton. She thought he was dead, eaten by the demon. Vanessa betrayed her and spat any friendship the two of them shared in the eye, and that's when _it_ started. Vanessa was locked away, shut into the Quiet Box to rot for her crimes, but she had already played her part." Bracken's lip curls in disgust for the revolting blix.

"Poor Kendra then met Gavin Rose. Imagine yourself in her place: a fourteen year old fairykind girl, desperate for someone she knows she can count on, introduced to a charming young man with looks to die for and a similar talent. They went on a mission to recover one of the artifacts together, and the crush only grew. Gavin would return, little to her knowing, and become the young girl's undoing." Bracken's interest waxes. Someone had hurt Kendra? Who is this Gavin fellow?

"And then that whole nonsense about the shadow plague. I take partial blame for that. Back within my younger days, I was always meddling with things that most likely shouldn't have been meddling in. For a good century, I was obsessed with coming up with plagues. I had thought I erased all mention of them, but apparently not. The shadow plague carries from victim to victim by bite, leaving dark creatures unaffected but turning light to dark. Her family fell to the disease, captured by the plague, and Kendra once more was forced to seek out the Fairy Queen's assistance. The plague was vanquished, but at a terrible price: Lena, one of Kendra's dearest friends, was exterminated in the process of cleansing Fablehaven.

"All the while, the threat of Zzyxz slinked closer and closer, like a net closing around a fish. Poor child." Swift-Song shudders in pity. "And then she went on a mission with Gavin, to Wyrmroost, the dragon sanctuary, in order to retrieve the key to the last artifact. That's when things really became heavy for poor, poor Kendra.

"Things went rather smooth up until Thronis." Swift-Song glances sideways at Bracken. "You _have_ met Thronis, yes?"

Bracken grimaces. "Yes, unfortunately."

"Kendra's party accidently wandered into his domain after disturbing the hunt of a dragon." Bracken winces. "Everyone but Warren and Kendra were snapped up by Thronis's griffons, carried away. They hid in a knapsack that was bigger on the inside, I actually enchanted that one, not knowing whether the rest of her group was alive or not. Kendra climbed out and began walking, trying to find her way through the maze of caverns and ravines and canyons. Needless to say, she couldn't determine up from down in there. I'm not sure what would've happened if Raxtus, God bless that little dragon, hadn't taken pity on her and helped her to the shrine.

"There she first met the astrids, hanging around the shrine. Unknown to Kendra, of course, is where Zia and Cassandra caught their first glances of the Fairy Queen's handmaiden. That's also when your mother started thinking about using the astrids as warriors once more. They guided her to the Dragon Temple. Not knowing if her family and friends were still alive, she chose, of all things, to continue her mission with the help of belittled and nearly diminished astrids as her only companions. Fate smiled upon her once, and she happened to meet everyone at the Dragon Temple entrance.

"But I said Fate smiled upon her _once_.

"They passed the guardians… not with _ease_, but with much less trouble that perhaps it could've been. Now that I think of it, Kendra and Seth slayed a poison dragon using your first horn." Swift-Song's voice grows warm. "Even before you met her, you were looking out for little Kendra. That's romantic, if I've ever heard a love story.

"Anyway, relatively easy time. That changed when they exited the Dragon Temple. Three dragons had been waiting in ambush, and had sprung up from the shadows as soon as poor Kendra stepped into the light.

"Chaos ruled. Well, not Chaos as in the wolf, but as in the… you know what I mean. In order to protect himself and the artifact key, Gavin, Kendra's crush and trusted protector, revealed his true identity.

"One must marvel upon Kendra's luck to meet both the Demon Prince and the Fairy Prince, and have affections for both of them. Navarog had posed as Gavin Rose, walking side by side with Kendra Sorenson and all of her companions, before eating Dougan and tossing Mara over a cliff, not to mention breaking Kendra's previously fragile heart."

Bracken blinks in shock. Kendra, sweet little Kendra with a light like a star on earth, falling for the Prince of Demons? It doesn't seem possible.

"Kendra hightailed it, using a rain stick to change the weather around herself into storms and high winds. The dragons couldn't fly very well, and she wormed herself into a canyon too narrow for any dragon but Raxtus to travel through.

"Navarog followed.

"In human form, the Demon Prince still had feelings for Kendra, so he offered to spare her. Kendra, of course, heartsick and confused, fought back, but a mere child, no matter how valiant or brave, is no match for a dragon, let along Navarog. He set fire to my knapsack" – Swift-Song sounds miffed about that – "and trapped Warren inside.

"Oh, he was so much worse than monsters. He was a devil, even among demons.

"Clever Kendra then tricked Navarog into insulting Celebrant, which of course infuriated Raxtus and caused the little dragon to bite his head off. But it was too late. The damage was done."

Swift-Song sighs sadly. "Afterwards… Kendra became someone different. She didn't trust anyone, not even fairies at times. Occasionally, not even her own brother. Navarog turned her into a survivor, and being a survivor is sometimes worse than staying alive. She was broken. Not in the way the Society had desired, but in a whole new way. Poor Kendra had lost most of her innocence.

"And then you came around." Swift-Song's voice becomes tender once more, and she looks at Bracken with those oddly shaded eyes and a pleasant smile. "You were finally someone she could completely and utterly trust. She could stand by your side, and know that she wouldn't be stabbed in the back. That meant the world to Kendra. Ever since then, her life has only gotten better. But her past still haunts her, as much as she may brush it off as nothing."

Bracken gawks at Swift-Song for a second, and then averts his gaze to Kendra, still laughing and playing with the pups, Brach balancing on her head unsuccessfully. He topples forward onto her lap.

"How do you know all this?" he whispers, hoping that it's all a lie. Just another example that the worst things happen to the grandest of beings.

"I'm a Scribe," Swift-Song reminds him somewhat irritably. "It's my job to know exactly what happens, when, why, and how." Bracken's hear breaks a little more.

"Poor, poor little Kendra," Bracken agrees.

* * *

Seth awakens to Kendra's terrified scream. His eyes snap open and he bolts upright, reacting somewhat violently to his sister's apparent agony. Scanning the area, he sees Kendra writhing inside of her sleeping bag, eyelids shut, on the girl's side of the den. Oh. Another nightmare. Bracken also whips upright, bluish eyes alert and very dangerous looking.

Seth entertains idea that for a second. _You touch my girlfriend? I will trample you and stab you with my horn!_

Ever since Zzyxz, Kendra has had serious nightmares every single night. Some were ones where she just woke up with a start, others she was beaded with sweat, and others are like this. It had been seriously annoying to be in her room at times. But now, she's in danger of waking everybody up, but maybe not Tanu, who's still snoring beside Seth.

Bracken shoots Seth a question glance and shimmies out of his sleeping bag. Seth grabs his communicator-coin and sends out, _Kendra has nightmares all the time. She's been getting better since a few months ago, but she still has them when she thinks about Zzyxz too much._

Through the coin, Seth feels Bracken's guilt and sorrow and pain. He sets it down, not wanting to feel any more sappy lovesick-unicorn emotions, and flips open his sleeping bag. Vanessa already is cradling Kendra, but his sister isn't waking up, and Seth could, like, win a gold medal at this.

As quietly as he can, he hops over Warren and crosses the space to the other side of Swift-Song's den. Interested, he notices that the she-wolf is absent. Even more interested, he notices that he can see the sleeping forms of the other wolves without milk, and see Fiona glaring at him reproachfully.

Vanessa shifts to let him crouch besides Kendra, but purposefully puts herself in front of Bracken. The unicorn scowls and ducks around her, kneeling next to Seth. He places one hand on her temple and shuts his eyes. When Bracken opens them again, he seems perplexed.

"I can't reach her dreams," he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair out of her agonized face. "That's not normal."

Seth gives it a go, cracking his knuckles. "Kendra," he whispers into her ear. "C'mon, Kendra. It's just a dream, don't worry they can't hurt you. Shh, shh, shh, c'mon…"

After a minute more of that, Seth throws up his hands in exasperation. The girl pups groggily form an audience, peering over each other, while Brach snuggles next to Kendra and whines, licking at her face, trying to get her attention. Bracken smiles at the pup and strokes his head comfortingly, but the little dude still seems distressed to Seth.

"Move aside, please," orders a familiar velvety purr. Seth scowls at the striped wolf nudging himself between Vanessa and Bracken. Chaos doesn't so much as give him a glance. "I know how to help. Move aside."

Bracken eagerly scoots over to make room for the smallish wolf. Chaos kneels next to Kendra, sliding his forelegs underneath her head. He inspects her face for a minute from underneath his dark cowl, and then begins to sing.

It's an eerie melody with a sad, sad tune, like a soldier marching off to battle for the last time. Seth only understands the main stanza: 

_Oh, hold me close, dear love of mine,_

_Until the stars have risen!_

_For when we see the bright, lively shine,_

_The snow shan't be crimson!_

Throughout the song, Kendra quiets, until at the very last verse, she calmly opens her eyes. Her twitching subsides until she's still, listening to the wolf's mournful song. Seth glares at Chaos, but Bracken sways along to the tune.

Kendra sighs. "That was beautiful. Who are you?"

"Chaos," introduces the zebra wolf, rising. His purple eyes seem softer than usual, like Kendra reminds him of something from his past, something uplifting. "I take it you would be Kendra, Seth's sister?"

"That's me," she yawns, before taking into account everyone staring at her. "Crap. I had a nightmare, didn't I? Sorry!"

"It wasn't your fault," forgives Bracken instantly, sweeping another lock of hair from her face, his hand lingering on her skin. Kendra smiles tenderly up at him, and suddenly, Seth feels like he's invading something immensely private. "Where did you learn to sing like that, Chaos?"

The wolf's purple eyes swim with emotion. "I has a daughter once who would have awful nightmares all night long. I would sing her to sleep, every night, and keep the monsters away from her dreams."

Seth blinks. "You had a—"

Chaos gruffly interrupts, rising and beginning to pace back and forth, cloak fluttering behind him.

"When was the last time you had a nightmare, Kendra?" Chaos demands, eyes extremely focused suddenly.

Kendra frowns, as if she's trying to remember. "The night Zia was attacked, I think."

"Zia," asks the wolf, directing the question to a grey and black owl hovering in the shadows, "you were attacked by your mother, correct?"

"Correct," whoos the owl with Zia's voice.

"Why do I always have to be right?" grumps Chaos, shaking his head and making his cloak wave. "Why can't I be wrong once in a while? 'Oh, the Fairy King's just gotten attacked by Gorgrog'. 'Oh, Cadeliah is going to lose the Soul Stone'." Kendra flinches a bit at that one. "Why can't the world just be safe? Is that so much to ask for?"

"Get out of here," snarls Seth. "You're scaring everybody."

Chaos pauses his pacing and glares Seth in the eye. "Everybody needs to be scared." The wolf ducks his head underneath his cloak, and comes out with a small vial filled with vaguely pinkish fluid that glints like oil. He tosses it at Bracken. "Dream Oil. I expect you know what to do with it. Seth, your training is put on hold. I need to find Cadeliah. God knows she's the only one that can help us now."

And, just like that, the wolf fades into darkness.

"Well," snorts Fiona. "Wasn't that cheery?"

* * *

"It was not just a dragon seeking refuge!" urges Cadeliah, eyes wide. "I'm telling you, Thunder-Soul, put this entire place on lockdown."

"You said it yourself," points out Thunder-Soul calmly. "You saw nothing of a threat coming from the sky. You said the threat would come from within us. A flying creature is not within us."

"Please!" begs Cadeliah, noting Chaos racing along the snow towards them. "You have to believe me! The large, dark shape that the Evertree Clan saw was not a dragon, nor a demon, nor a wyvern!"

"Why won't you tell me what it is, then?" questions Thunder-Soul coolly.

"Because as soon as she knows that we're informed, she'll attack." Cadeliah shakes her head wearily.

"Well then why should I be in any hurry to inform others about 'her'?" demands Thunder-Soul in exasperation, something glinting in his grey eyes. "For the smartest wolf ever, you certainly are dense."

Thunder-Soul is on the ground in .02 seconds flat. Cadeliah sends her claws down in a horrible arch and slices through the skin on his shoulder like deli meat before jumping back, admiring the red bands tracing down his flesh. "You have doomed your clan," she hisses, "but I will not doom my pups."

And with that, Cadeliah turns and stalks away, fear consuming her every step.

The seventh day has arrived.

* * *

Seth walks alongside Bracken up the hill, watching the heavy flakes twirl in the air, spinning clumsily to the ground with barely audible thumps matching the constant crunch of footsteps. Seth bundles himself closer into the parka Swift-Song had retrieved from the forest, trying to fight against the bitter cold.

Seth still feels a bit awkward around Bracken, considering the awkwardness of the other day, but the unicorn dude seems to have forgiven Seth and almost forgotten about it.

Finally, the two of them reach the confines of a little cave with a warm glow spreading from the entrance. Seth yanks the scarf off of his face and smiles at Kendra.

After her creepy dream, Fiona had sent her over to the healer or whatever these wolves called it and convinced everybody else to go back to sleep. However, both Bracken and Seth had been up at the crack of dawn, ready to track down Kendra.

And here she is.

Kendra swings around in a hammock chair, huge grin plastered across her face, making her green eyes sparkle. The hammock chair is made of some translucent twine all braided together. It must be comfortable, because Kendra leans back in it happily.

The room is vaguely reddish brown, covered in caveman paintings and drawings. Herbs hang from the ceiling, suspended by fragile threads. A wolf sits in a nest of moss. All sorts of vials and potions line one wall. It smells a lot like cinnamon. Off to one side, a small fire crackles.

"Hi, Seth!" she cries, and then pats the swing. "Bracken, you're getting me one of these for Christmas, okay?"

Bracken frowns and studies the hammock chair, as if he had taken Kendra seriously. "What is that made up of?"

"There are a few Spiderling fairies that make their homes by the River Clan," explains an aged cherry red wolf curled up around some potions. "I saved their nests from a flood once, and so they feel indebted to me. Twice a year, they have to molt the spider-like webbing they use to make their homes and rebuild it. The worn thread is soft instead of sticky, but incredibly delicate and difficult to use. I, however, think it makes the best hammocks in the world. I've been perfecting the weaving patterns for centuries, trying to create sturdiness and softness and stretchiness in one pattern. This is my best work yet."

"That's very ingenious," compliments Bracken, stepping forward and running one finger along the threads. "I imagine it's very comfy."

"Comfy doesn't even begin to describe it," laughs Kendra. "This is like sitting in Heaven incarnate."

"Is Kendra good to go?" asks Seth, directing the question to the red wolf. "Because, call me crazy, I wanna get back into my warm sleeping bad as soon as possible…"

"Oh, I don't wanna go yet!" objects Kendra, sitting up in her hammock chair. "This is so awesome!"

"I do," sighs the old wolf. "Much like Seth, I've got better places to be, like _bed_." Kendra noticeably deflates.

"I can stay here with you," Bracken offers. "It wouldn't be much of a hassle. Actually, I think I'd enjoy it."

Seth looks at the two of them, eyes flicking back and forth, and nods curtly. "I'll guide you back to Swift-Song's den," volunteers the old she wolf, rising from her bed of moss. "The name's Berry-Fur, by the way."

Seth grins. "Hello, Berry-Fur."

* * *

Bracken smiles down at Kendra warmly, relishing the rosy color of her cheeks as she grins at the snow-blanketed hill. The wolves had provided them with plastic circular sleds after seeing Kendra's interest in the steep slope. They gather on one of the crests, murmuring to each other in amusement. More than once, Bracken hears that accursed "Brackendra" term muttered. It had been amusing at first, but now it's really getting old.

Kendra whistles, shading her eyes and peering down the track the wolves had patted down. "That's a hell of a slope for sleds."

"I guess the wolves are in entertainment withdrawal," chuckles Bracken, catching her gloved hand in his. "We're prime-time amusement over here."

"I guess they're as obsessed as men when it comes to sports," giggles Kendra. A wave of alarm rushes over Bracken, and Kendra glances at him in concern, as if something else occurs to her. "Are _you_ obsessed with sports, Unicorn?"

Bracken throws his head back and laughs loudly, startling a nearby wolf.

"I'll take that as a no?" guesses Kendra, elbowing him in the ribs. "Alright, enough stalling. Let's do this."

Wearing a determined expression, Kendra holds her pink sled out in front of her and eases her butt onto it. To keep herself safely grounded on the hill, she digs her fingers into the snow. She grins up at Bracken and waves him forward. "C'mon, Unicorn!"

Unsteadily, Bracken follows her example and sits down in the center of the sled. He smiles nervously at beaming Kendra. "Would you believe me if I said that I've never been sledding before?"

"Aw," Kendra tsks. "Has the Fairy Prince never had proper fun? I swear, I feel like I'm in a storybook." She braces herself with a wicked grin. "Race ya to the bottom, eh?"

And with that, Kendra is gone, shouting with joy and sliding down the hillside. With a deep breath, Bracken launches himself off the hillside, and grips the edges of the sled for dear life.

Bracken quickly discovers there is nothing enjoyable about plunging down a steep hillside on snow with nothing to hold on to but a sled which is also your mode of transport and your steering tool at extreme speeds.

He's never screamed so loud in his life.

Halfway through, he catches sight of Kendra, smoothly whizzing on ahead of him, cutting through the snow like a knife and adjusting her weight to steer. Bracken tries leaning, but his ride only gets bumpier.

Finally, Bracken skids to a stop. He sways and slumps down in the snow, making Kendra laugh loudly. Bracken groans, trying to keep his breakfast where it belongs. The cold snow on his face feels good, cooling the sweat sheening his face.

"Bracken, you're so green" – Kendra cuts off with a gasp, followed by a screech of terror and pain. Not a normal You-Scared-Me Kendra scream, but the Completely-and-Utterly-Terrified-and-Pained Kendra scream.

Instantly, Bracken wrenches himself from his grave in the ice. "Kendra," he gasps, looking at her face. She screams once more, a bloodcurdling cry of such horror that it makes Bracken's heart break. Desperately, she tries in vain to scoot across the snow, and away from whatever was disturbing her, sobbing, holding a hand out to ward whatever it is back.

Bracken doesn't look at whatever is spooking her yet, but lurches forward and grasps Kendra, holding her and somewhat roughly burying her head into his chest where she can't see. Kendra wraps her arms around him, voice choking with rasping sobs. "Wh-wh-wh-what—"

Bracken's eyes trail up to the warning and his heart stops.

Jade-Eye, the she-wolf that had bullied Kendra and spurned Brach, is strapped to the tree with big black rusted chains. Her eyes are wide and unseeing, glazed and filled with the panic of her last horrible few moments. They're too much like Kendra's green eyes for Bracken's liking. Blood leaks from her, smacking against the snow rhythmically and leaving dark stains in the white. Where the chains fasten her to the tree, her flesh is raw and bleeding, worn of the fur. Her mouth is open, most likely with her last petrified scream.

But that's not what makes Bracken's heart stop.

Scrawled in the snow at the base of the tree, carved neatly into the snow and sprinkled with crimson blood, is a message for his Kendra.

_**YOU'RE NEXT, FAIRY GIRL!**_

Bracken doesn't believe Kendra had seen the warning, just the horrible carcass hanging from the tree. He buries his head into her hair, and whispers, "Oh, my god, Kendra. Sh, sh, sh… It's alright… sh, sh, sh… I've got you now, they can't hurt you…"

"Oh god," breathes an unfamiliar voice. Bracken snaps up and faces two strange wolves with dark pelts. "I hated her guts, but… jeesh. Who could've done that?"

"You there," Bracken snaps, his princely dominant side coming out for Kendra's distress. "Clean this mess up. Once you're finished, I want every inch of this preserve searched and checked. Every single nook and every single cave. You hear that? _Every single one_. Nothing should be left unchecked. Spread the word."

And with that, Bracken scoops up Kendra, keeping her face carefully shielded. He cradles her shivering body in his arms, holding Kendra as tight as he can without physically hurting her. Behind him, he can hear the two wolves whispering to one another.

"Does he have the authority to do that?" one asks, hushed.

"I dunno, but he seemed pretty pissed," speculates the other. "You really wanna challenge that?"

Bracken ignores them. Fiery rage engulfs him, eating away at his soul and making his chest vibrate with the threat of a primal growl. How dare they threaten his Kendra! His light! His lovely, laughing star! How dare they shake her in this way! Bracken isn't sure why, perhaps it's more lovey-dovey unicorn instincts, but he wants to find whoever is responsible for this mess and rip them up from limb to limb and toss their remains into Zzyxz to be feasted upon by the mighty demon horde.

He climbs up the hill, each long stride containing anger and power. Wolves back away as he passes, eyes sparking with fear, but he just doesn't care at the moment. They're almost to the top when Kendra regains the ability to speak over her sobs.

"Bracken – Bracken, it's my f-f-fault," Kendra keens. "J-J-Jade-Eyes could be alive. They w-want me."

Bracken's heart turns to ice. So, she had seen the message sloppily scrawled in the snow. That makes him want to rip someone up even more.

"No," Bracken growls, lowering his head and pressing his lips to the smooth skin on her forehead. "I will never ever let them within a ten mile radius of you, Kendra. Don't you dare forget it."

"But more people will die," she rasps, finally opening her tear-reddened eyes to reveal those beautiful green irises. "That was pretty clear."

Bracken's tempted to say, "I don't care." Because, for a horrible second, he really doesn't. But then his unicorn memories rush back to him, overpowering the human desire for Kendra. He closes his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. "Don't worry," he ends up whispering. "I'll figure something out."

Kendra wraps herself tighter to him, and breathes something that sends ribbons of dread coiling in his stomach. "You can't do everything."

Bracken's mind freezes as he realizes he can't. He has no clue what wants Kendra. There'd been no clues, no clues that he'd been about to see, at least, in the message, and no idea how to fix things. It makes him feel powerless. Kendra is a damsel in distress, but Bracken isn't her knight in shining armor.

He remembers Swift-Song's tired words. _"Poor, poor child."_

Seth jogs up, his eyes wide and mouth agape. "Wha-?"

"Kendra has received a death threat," Bracken informs him crisply, "along with a dead body of a wolf. We need to get to safety."

Seth opens his mouth with more questions, but closes it firmly and nods. He whistles, looking over the ridge. Swift-Song and Thunder-Soul peek over the ridge, coats glistening in the morning sunlight. They exchange a meaningful glance, and Thunder-Soul tips back his head.

With a magically enhanced voice, Thunder-Soul bellows: "GET TO SAFETY! BY THE POWER INVESTED IN ME, THUNDER-SOUL, I ORDER PEAK CLAN TO GO UNDER LOCKDOWN! REPEAT, PEAK CLAN IS UNDER LOCKDOWN! SEND WARNINGS OUT TO THE OTHER CLANS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

Swift-Song jogs up, eyes brimming with tears. "Oh, you poor, poor child."

And that's when the voice starts.

* * *

"Oh, Kendra!" drawls a pleasant female voice, the cadence of her voice rolling over the hills and making Seth shiver. "Kendra, dear! We're waiting for you!" Kendra stiffens in Bracken's arms, quivering like a leaf in a gale. Zia locks up, not even blinking. Bracken's lip curls in fury.

"Kendra, dear," laughs the voice. "I know you can hear me. I can hear you, too! Isn't that lovely? I see you've read my message. I had my boys scrawl it out for me. I know how you hated Jade-Eye. She got what she deserved, don't you think?"

"No," breathes Kendra, burying her face into Bracken.

"Well, that's just your opinion," the voice dismisses. "The point is, dear, mummy is waiting for you! Come quick, or there'll be others, just like Jade-Eyes! And they'll be wolves you favor, my dear. Fiona and Swift-Song and the little lame pup. What's his name? Oh, yes, Brach. If you still don't cooperate, I'll send my boys to go and get you. Isn't that marvelous? You have until twelve o'clock to answer. Good luck."

Zia hisses, and Alec snarls from her shoulder. "I know that voice!" he booms, eyes scanning the sky.

"We'll have time to speak in my den!" urges Swift-Song. "Quickly, now! To safety!"

* * *

"There were originally one hundred astrids," explains Alec, "back in the days when Bracken was still a baby bouncing on his mumma's knee. I left the King's Guard simply because I grew bored of protecting a unicorn king day in and day out. I wanted to see the world, and I knew from experience that others had left before me. I assure you, though, I did not leave with the intentions of Tatiana and her 'boys'." The astrid shudders. "Although I can no longer count myself among the creatures of light, I will never do anything against my old mistress or master. I respect them, even if they turn their noses up upon mention of me. That is hardly the case for _them_."

"I remember hearing about that," recalls Bracken. He looks at Alec appraisingly. "You have an even better memory than I."

"I, too, remember hearing legends about an owl queen," comments Mara, actually saying something. Seth starts in surprise. He hadn't expected the girl to actually converse with other beings. "They say her only wish is revenge on the Fairy Queen because she stripped her of all of her power. She had to start on square one."

"That's what happened," agrees Zia grimly. "And it's been a while since she's had to start over. She's a serious foe now. If she could find a way in, she could probably wreak havoc upon the Fairy-Kingdom-Under-Construction."

"It would be bad," consents Bracken with a rattling sigh. "That must be why she's targeting Kendra."

At that moment, Swift-Song rushes in from the back entrance, eyes wide. She scans the crowd, picking out everyone. Bracken bows his head respectfully, but she ignores him.

"Twelve of you," she breathes in a panic. "There are only twelve of you. Mara, Warren, Zia, Kendra, Vanessa, Bracken, Seth, Fiona, Jhama, Yetta, Tanu, Brach, Alec. That's thirteen people that should be here. Someone is missing."

Bracken bolts to his feet, eyes wild. The unicorn sprints to the locked exit, muttering something under his breath that makes the boulder roll itself away. And then he's gone, leaving Seth without a doubt of who is missing.

"Kendra," he whispers, stumbling up. "I've got to-"

"No," growls Fiona, blocking everyone's path. She waves her tail, and the entrance reseals itself, locking Bracken and Kendra out. "No one leaves here. Bracken practically just committed suicide. No one else is going out there." Her voice is firm, leaving no room for argument.

Seth tries to move around the wolf, but Fiona shifts. "But my sister—" Seth breaks off with a worried sigh, closing his hand around Bracken's telepathic coin.

"You're on your own," he whispers, backing away from Fiona.

And how alone they are.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN! I apologize for the cliffhanger! Lord knows when I'm going to be able to resolve this! I'm uploading this chapter in a Wifi McDonalds, so I guess the next chapter will come next time I'm at McDonalds. Please review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter!**

**Thank you people that answered last week's poll! This week's poll is: how many people noticed that Alec and Zia are A and Z from the alphabet? I'm betting not that many.**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	19. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the wait and the cliffhanger! Also, sorry for last chapter's length! I was like, "Phew, over 5000 words! Wow!" Thanks for everyone who's been supporting me with this from the beginning, and everyone who hasn't! **

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

"You let no one out," lectures Swift-Song, hovering over Fiona. "You hear me? No one gets out. Not one living soul." Fiona nods vigorously. "No one gets out. Starting… now!"

And with that, Swift-Song bolts out the entrance, the boulder rolling shut behind her. Seth's mouth drops. Two owls, one black and the other grey, swirl up through the hole in the ceiling meant for light, shutting the window behind them with a crack.

"What?"

* * *

Bracken sprints over the snow, sinking more than he would've liked. The white powder lets his feet descend with every down-stroke, slowing his desperate dash and making his feet cold. Normally, Bracken can reach speeds of fifty miles per hour. Not in this snow.

His heart thunders in his veins, each pulse sending a surge of immense muscular power through his brain and another wave of anger into his systems. Bracken snarls to himself as he presses forward, forcing his feet forward with increasing strength each stride. He carves a path, using his abilities to melt the snow as much as possible before he reaches it.

On and on, he runs, through the snow, not even really sure where he's going, just following his raging instincts. Bracken only stops when he hears the terrified squeak, "Bracken!" Skidding to a halt, Bracken sees Kendra, and rage throbs in every cell of his body.

"Well," purrs a massive black owl, creeping over a grey stone, cocking her pure white head, "it's nice to finally meet you, Bracken. Have you met Kendra? I believe you have."

* * *

Kendra hadn't meant for Bracken to actually hear her. It was just a yelp of surprise that had escaped her lips more than anything else. The sight of him had sent a flurry of relief through her, and Kendra hadn't really been able to stop the cry. But her relief had quickly been vanquished.

The two bodyguards on either side of her tighten their scaly claws around her arms. They turn their helmeted heads slowly to face Bracken, each gradual movement sending terrified shivers through her body, no matter how much she tries to keep still. They radiate fear, like demons, not like astrids. They don't look much like astrids, both towering above Kendra with mighty stances and beaks jutting from their crude black helmets. Their shadowy feathers aren't like Alec's, mottled and patterned, but like they'd been dipped in a batch of black dye. Roughly the size of horses, they obtain a creepy dignity, like gods of darkness.

Bracken slides to a stop. He glares at the ringleader, the one Kendra assumes is Zia's mom. She's the one that really scares Kendra, even without an awful aura. Most of her body is sleek and vaguely a black oily shade, falling along her lithe form like a black waterfall of shadows. Until she extends her huge wings, they're completely indiscernible from the rest of her body. The only thing that isn't black is her face, which is a perfect white circle of beauty, no marginal decline in color, just black and then white, marred only by two beady black almond-shaped eyes filled with malice and terrible danger. Her claws shine silver, and the tip of her beak is ruby red, like she'd accidently smashed her face into a tube of lipstick.

Holding herself upright, Tatiana cocks her horrible face, literally angling it parallel to the ground. She blinks, white lids moving like window wipers, and issues a threat to Bracken. "Well," she purrs, creeping over the grey stone she'd perched on, claws clicking across the granite, "it's nice to finally meet you, Bracken. Have you met Kendra? I believe you have."

One of the minions place one of their rusted metal talons under her chin, lifting it roughly to expose her vulnerable throat, and causing her to pant with fear. Kendra can feel a bead of sweat tracing down her forehead, but can't really do anything about it. She can't stand up against their fearful auras, just crouch and shiver like a pitiful mouse.

"Who are you?" questions Bracken levelly, his voice sounding secure and confident and unafraid and cold, like a powerful prince interrogating his subjects and lessers. Despite his cool appearance, Kendra can read the clenching of his muscles and the fire burning behind the ice in his eyes like a storybook. He's angry. No, beyond angry. Furious might not even cover it.

"Me?" laughs Tatiana, cocking her head to the other side, and clicking a bit closer to Bracken. Kendra wants to shout at him to run, to get help, or just get away from these feathered devils, but the talon at her throat digs a bit deeper, jabbing uncomfortably into her flesh and effectively quieting her. With her eyes, she tries to send the message, but Bracken doesn't look at Kendra again. "Well, isn't that the question. Who am I?"

She clicks a bit closer to Bracken, snapping her scarlet beak together once in a threat. "I am your worst nightmare, Bracken. I am everything you fear, everything you hate, everything you dread. I can see everything you shy away from, every secret you want to keep silent, and every last time you, Bracken the Fairy Prince, have run away with your tail tucked between your legs. I know exactly what will make you break. Your little pet here is my example. I knew exactly what would shatter her spirit into a million pieces. And I know what will shatter yours."

"Kendra is my companion," corrects Bracken, "not a pet. And there's no need to drag her into this. Let the fairykind go. I'll settle this."

Tatiana hoots with laughter, backing up away from him as fluidly as a shadow and appearing at Kendra's side. "Oh, but Bracken, I need both of you for my bait! And you're right, she isn't a pet. She's your mummy's handmaiden, and your ickle plaything!"

Bracken frowns. "I do not see what you mean."

Tatiana's cackle is high and pitched, making Kendra flinch against the muscular bands tightening around her arms and keeping her in place. "Oh, this is hilarious! The prince doesn't even notice his own scandal! Did you really think your adoration was unnoticed? Did you really think it was going to last? What a laugh! Because, honey, prince don't need handmaidens for anything but practice. The thought of you falling in love with a servant, a frail human being!" Tatiana cackles once more. Every word makes Kendra wince a little more. The owl knows that this is hurting Kendra as much as it's probably hurting Bracken internally.

Bracken laughs easily, shaking his head with a warm smile. "You appear to be under a misconception, my friend. I am quite fond of Kendra, just not in the way you are describing." Kendra's lips twitch into a smile at those familiar words, but her heart is breaking internally. "I do not love Kendra Sorenson. I have never once in my life felt even a twinge of love for her, and I pray with all my heart and soul that I never ever will fall for a creature so beneath my rank and level. To think that I would ever adore a servant is insulting. You think very little of me."

"Really?" Tatiana sounds bummed. She waves a dismissive wing, the limb suddenly melting from her black body, towards the minions holding Kendra. "I guess that means we don't need her. We don't need her alive, at least."

Bracken surges forward with wide silvery eyes as the astrids reach for Kendra, one of their huge talons wrapping around her middle and lifting her into the air with great flaps of his mighty wings. The other keeps a claw safely embedded into Kendra's neck, silencing any terrified shrieks she might produce. Terror envelopes Kendra, like a thick and suffocating blanket. The astrid holding Kendra waits a second, making a throaty sound like sick laughter, before closing his talons around Kendra's torso. She can't stop the scream of pain from escaping her as she feels the muscles constrict around her, snapping her ribs and crushing her lungs. A tear slips down her cheek. Through her agony, Kendra can barely hear Bracken's desperate, "No! Stop! Please, don't hurt her! Stop!"

"What was that?" hums Tatiana, the sound of her voice getting more distant as the talons of the astrid but into Kendra's vital organs. "I can't HEAR you, Bracken!"

"I love Kendra!" yelps Bracken, abruptly appearing at her side and throwing an elbow into the metal face of the astrid with the claw under Kendra's chin. "I always have, since the moment I clapped eyes on her, and I always will! Anything else I say is sacrilegious!"

The elbowed astrid with a brand new dent in his helm fastens his claws onto Bracken's shoulders and drags the fighting unicorn back to his original position. The pressure on Kendra's ribs lessens, and her torturer sets her back down as gently as possible for these cruel beasts. Kendra collapses on the ground, tears running down her cheeks. However, after a single wimpy sniffle, Kendra wipes her nose and glares at Tatiana from her position stuck in the cold snow. She will not sob again. Tears may flow, but she will not break. Not this time.

"You're a monster," snarls Bracken, throwing all of his weight against the astrid holding him back, neck tendons straining as the unicorn thrusts himself towards Kendra as forcefully as he can. The pain in his eyes makes her angry.

"Oh, Bracken," chuckles Tatiana, cocking her head again. "I would say I'm worse than monsters, but I would be quoting a pupil of mine." Kendra shudders, remembering those words uttered at the dragon preserve by Navarog, all those years ago. They still make her uneasy. Tatiana turns to Kendra, head swiveling around with the white face.

"I'm still mad at you for turning my prize student into a meek kitten," she hisses. "If he had waited much longer, my Demon Prince would've become your lapdog!" Bracken freezes underneath the talons of the black owl, eyes locking on Kendra's face.

"What," growls Kendra ferociously, ignoring Bracken's gaze, "a demonic dragon softened by a little girl? Think again, birdbrain."

"True," admits Tatiana. Her black eyes glitter like onyx. "I must admit, the Fairy Queen had quite some gall, sending both of you to the same preserve with basically no backup." She throws her head back and chortles, beak convulsing. "It's almost like she was begging for this to happen! Her precious handmaiden and her precious little boy, and what's going to stop me from torturing the two of you until your wills are broken? What's going to stop me from kicking your tails from here to tomorrow? Nothing! And this but begins the revolution! Bracken will lead my army of skeletons, his corpse the mightiest of them all! Kendra will become my advisor, my right-hand man, once I am finished with her." Kendra squares her shoulders, ignoring the way her legs quiver and threaten to buckle back into the snow.

"I won't allow that," snarls Bracken, fighting against the astrid again with more fury than before. "You will not lay a single claw on Kendra. You will not get anywhere close to her. You will not look at her face. Not while I'm around."

That makes Kendra feel warm inside, but that may just be because of her internal bleeding. The warmth is quenched with the icy and truly wolfish gaze of the black owl queen. Kendra had never pictured an owl grinning, forget an owl grinning evilly, so she doesn't really know what to say. Tatiana creeps closer.

"I'm looking at her," Tatiana whispers mockingly. She steps closer, spreading her wings menacingly and forcing the elegant black feathers on the back of her neck stand on end in a threat. "I'm close to her." Lurching forward, Tatiana smacks Kendra upside of the face with one talon, leaving gouges of burning fire in her skin. Kendra stumbles backwards, falling back into the cold, wet snow with a clumsy thump and leaving a scarlet stain in the white. Tatiana retracts and melts back into a dignified shadow with gracefully terrifying features. Kendra doesn't move, every muscles sore and aching, feverish with her messed-up lungs and broken ribs.

"I laid a claw on her," Tatiana taunts, turning back to Bracken, who practically has smoke billowing from his ears. Bracken paws against the snow with his feet, leaving marks in the powder, and trumpets with rage. "Lucky for you I need that girl alive for the my owls," grunts Tatiana, flicking her claw over Kendra's face and snapping it to the side, sends arches of pain through her muscles. "She would be dead for your imprudence, I'll have you know."

"Don't you dare–" Tatiana waves a talon, and the astrid clamps down on Bracken's mouth, silencing him.

"Your silly impractical threats are boring me," she dismisses. "I'd thought they'd be more interesting. All men are the same, I suppose. Your father was the same. Which reminds me…" Her eyes gleam as she turns back to Bracken. "I've waited a long, long time to gloat over this, and here's my chance! You see, Bracken, your father, though nowhere as talented as the Fairy Queen, wasn't a spring chicken, and him falling to Gorgrog was extremely improbable under any circumstances. However, his failure was demanded in my grand scheme." Bracken quiets, pausing his struggles to make sense of her message. Kendra's head swims so much she doesn't even bother to rise from the snow, but this claims her interest. What about Bracken's father?

"So," boasts Tatiana arrogantly, "after setting up the battle between the two kings with the obvious winner, I attacked your father from behind in a crucial moment of the fight. Of course, the Fairy King was no fool, but I had distracted him what little time was needed. He was fending off the few last demons into Zzyxz, preparing to seal the prison, when this all occurred.

"But, much to my unhappiness, the Fairy King managed to ward the Demon King into the prison anyway, before crawling next to the gateway to heal himself and take revenge on me. Well, that wouldn't work. That dratted wolf ran off to fetch the Fairy Queen and the goody-goody astrids, leaving the Fairy King alone." Tatiana's eyes truly gleam now, dancing with black flames.

"_I_ cast your father into Zzyxz, tossing him into the depths of the prison and dooming him to a life of pain. _I_ am the one accountable for your father's predicament. To this very day I am proud of myself for my decision and pat myself on the back for besting the Fairy King every morning when I wake."

Bracken looks crushed and bewildered for a second, his long fringed eyelashes blinking in hurt astonishment. Kendra's pity and anger intermingles, forming a white-hot orb of fury in her damaged lungs. Tatiana discharges Bracken's bemused pain and steps back towards Kendra with those black eyes hungry.

"You see, my dear, there are so many things your little brain can't comprehend at the moments. Such as your own abilities. I can help with that, Kendra. I know you're interested and want to know about your talents. But the Fairy Queen doesn't want you to progress, Kendra. She wants you to remain her slave. Swift-Song taught you more about your identity than Bracken ever did, didn't she? Would handing you a book on a past fairykind really be that difficult to do? He wants you to remain an ignorant servant as well!"

Kendra doesn't have the strength to answer her, so the astrid smacks her with his claws, leaving trails of fiery pain. She groans and closes her eyes, before opening them hastily at the next clawing punishment.

Bracken's eyes blaze, but he looks at Tatiana pleadingly. "Please," Kendra hears him whisper distantly, "let me go to her." His voice pierces through the haze, his pain sending shots of rage through her veins, but she can't move her head, much less do anything to help her unicorn.

"Fine," spits Tatiana, black eyes watching the sky, waving a talon. The astrid holding Bracken immediately releases the unicorn, sending him tumbling towards Kendra. The weight on Kendra's back lessens, and the two owls fall into place beside the black queen.

As soon as Bracken touches her skin, Kendra feels prickles of warmth all over as her flesh begins to heal itself, and a sensation of bliss rolls over her mind. One of her rib bones mends back together, causing her to sigh with relief. "Bracken," she breathes. Kendra weakly wraps her arms around his neck, but Bracken eases her back to the ground and breaks her embrace. "Sh, Kendra, just rest…"

Then something rips him away from her, dragging Bracken away with an enormous allot of strength.

Kendra stifles a shriek as one of the dark astrids appear in front of her and re-break healing the bone with a sickening crunch, before flattening her against the ground roughly, shoving her face into the snow and making her shiver in fear. He hops on her spine like a trampoline, his weight momentarily leaving her back before smashing upon her. Kendra's vision goes black, and all of Bracken's happiness vanishes.

"Kendra!" howls Bracken in pain. Kendra isn't sure, because her face is freaking stuck in the snow, but she thinks he's addressing Tatiana now. "Why would you do that?"

A sleek silver talon worms underneath Kendra's chin and wrenches it upright, clutching her face crudely, forcing her to look straight into Tatiana's endless black eyes. Kendra breathes deep in through her nose. "Oh, Bracken," purrs Tatiana pitifully. "We can't heal Kendra! That would just ruin the fun! Don't you—"

Tatiana gets cut off by an abrupt splatter of neon pink exploding on her black neck, making her stagger backwards. Both Kendra and the owl queen look off to the origination. Kendra chokes on a peal of painful laughter leaving her deflated lungs.

Chaos sits in the distance with specially wolf-adapted goggles on his face, baring his teeth ferociously. Draping over his back instead of a fluttering cloak are two metal cylinders that look suspiciously like high-tech machine guns, with two silver baskets filled to the brim with neon paintballs.

The paintball splash on Tatiana begins to sizzle like acid, making the black owl shriek in pain and jerk away from Kendra. Chaos open-fires on the owl minions and the owl queen, missing over half of the time, but still leaving their dark feathers covered in colorful acid splatters.

They stagger backwards, the one atop Kendra knocked clean off by a hit in the chest. Kendra laughs in delighted astonishment, pleased faintly by the simplicity of Chao's solution, but soon those metal baskets are empty, and there's no more ammo for Chaos. He dry-fires a few rounds, inadvertently giving the owls a chance to regain themselves.

"Kill him!" screeches Tatiana, every movement causing her green and yellow acid to ripple. The paint completely and utterly destroys her mysterious and shadowy charade. Both of the astrids chuckle deeply, flexing their huge wings threateningly, before taking to the sky.

"Hit me with another one!" howls Chaos. Kendra frowns, until she sees Alec descending with a metal bucket in his claws. She smiles as he dumps fresh paintballs into Chaos's baskets, before zipping off to avoid the minion's outstretched talons. The monster birds instantly alter their course and speed after Alec instead of Chaos, leaving the wolf free to fire on Tatiana.

"Run!" bellows a familiar voice, and a brown wolf crests the hill, glowing with health and power, the sun framing the gold-tipped fur on her ruff. One blue eye and one gold eye shimmer angrily down at Tatiana, matching her beautifully dramatic stance against the ridge. "Kendra! Bracken! Get out of here!"

Then Swift-Song bolts forward at Tatiana, in complete harmony with two spiraling dives from two more massive birds. Kendra struggles against her injuries, and Bracken is there in a moment, gently tugging her to her feet. Everything aches as she takes a tentative step forward, her muscles screaming in complaints and her lungs groaning. Swift-Song appears at the shoulder Bracken isn't covering, tapping her nose to Kendra's forehead and muttering something unintelligible. Pulsing energy courses through Kendra, and she shrugs off Bracken's support, making her temporarily forget about her injuries.

"Let's go," she mutters, ignoring his shocked expression. Swift-Song races off again, swirling around the black owl queen in a spiraling attack. Glancing back, Kendra sees the white owl Cassandra and a black one that she assumes is Zia eddying around their mother's head and disorienting her, diving in and snipping cuts in with their beaks. Swift-Song flies in and snatches at her neck, latching on with huge ivory fangs.

Compared to what the unicorn's done in the past, Bracken's flipping Kendra's head back to her path is rough. "Move it," he practically growls, eyes scanning the sky for threats. Kendra doesn't object, dashing forward despite her screaming muscles and over the ridge. The energy boost Swift-Song had given her will only last so long. In fact, she can already feel it ebbing, the pain of her ribs returning…

Whoosh! Leaving a huge trail behind her in the snow, Swift-Song gets tossed next to Kendra by Tatiana. Kendra halts abruptly, causing Bracken to crash into her back. "Cadeliah!" Kendra yips before she can stop herself. The wolf's eyes snap open, and she stares at Kendra, as if she's spoken a magic word. Instantly, something in the air seems different, like everything's a bit clearer and scents are a bit sharper in her nose. Bracken takes in a deep sniff, but shoves her forward again, jarring one of her ribs. Kendra winces, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"C'mon!" he shouts, desperation sharpening his movements.

Glancing one last time at the rising form of… _Cadeliah_, Kendra dashes forward with inhuman speed and matches Bracken's powerful strides with long paces herself.

"Cadeliah?!" shrieks Tatiana from somewhere behind her, but Kendra doesn't dare look back.

* * *

"Cadeliah?!" shrieks Tatiana as Zia pulls out of her long dive, gawking at the form of the old brown wolf shaking snow from her fur. At first, genuine fear shines in her beady black eyes, quickly shifting into calm control. "Ah, Cadeliah, I should've known you'd find a way to come back and haunt me!"

"It wasn't that hard," grunts Cadeliah. Zia hovers over her mother. For whatever reason, Tatiana hasn't taken flight yet, leaving Zia and her sister Cassandra to circle above.

"You're really kind of dense," laments Cassandra from above. Chaos chooses this moment to hit Tatiana in the side of the head with an orange paintball, making her mother fuming. She craws angrily at Chaos, to which the wolf responds to by sticking out his pink tongue. With a deep breath, Tatiana regains herself.

"Zia, Cassandra," she calls. "My darlings. I don't want to hurt you, children. It saddens me deeply."

"It saddens you to have your experiments dented," mutters Zia. Cassandra nods in agreement.

Tatiana ignores her studiously. "Join me, darlings. We can do so much linked hand-in-hand, so much more than just fighting each other like petty children. If you don't accept…" Something that sends a quiver of fear through Zia sparkles in Tatiana's eyes. "If you don't accept, I will kill everyone that matters to you. I will rip this sanctuary apart, releasing a terror as evil as titanium upon your precious wolves, and utterly devastate your quest. I will burn your library to the ground, Cassandra. There will be nothing left for you to salvage. But I beg of you: come and stand by my side. It would be so much less messier…"

Zia and Cassandra exchange a meaningful glance. "No," they refuse in unison. "Great maternal instincts, though," comments Cassandra cheekily.

"Have it your way," allows Tatiana smoothly, raising her paint-dappled wings in the air. "Just remember, my dears, the fall of this preserve rests on your shoulders alone!"

And on that ominous note, Tatiana leaves in a comet of inky black shadows. Her minions detach themselves from the mangled form of Alec and soar after her, screeching at Tatiana to wait for them. Zia's heart wrenches at the sight of Alec free-falling form the sky, trailing his blood like a crimson tail, his eyes closed and feathers twirling behind him.

"Alec!" she shrieks, diving for his body, claws outstretched, racing for the love of her life.

Zia doesn't make it on time.

* * *

Just a bit closer, just five more paces, then they'll be safe…

Bracken tumbles into the cave, sprawling across the floor. He hears Kendra collapse beside him, and the sound of her ragged breathing. Unsure if they'd been followed, Bracken shouts, "_Close!_" at the door in the fairy language. It rumbles shut, sealing the two of them inside the cave and away from the killer owls.

Breathing heavily, Bracken closes his eyes, lets out a breathy laugh, and opens them again. Much like… _Cadeliah's,_ Swift-Song's apparent true identity, den, a hole in the ceiling allows light to filter through, illuminating a circular chamber not ten feet in diameter.

His little chuckle becomes an all-out laugh. Bracken's delighted and surprised at the same time to be alive, and a laugh seems to be inevitable. He laughs for the joy of breathing with his beautiful light flickering beside him. He laughs for the amusement of Chao's paintballs. He laughs because Kendra is alive.

Everything is perfect. And so Bracken laughs.

Kendra tries to join in with her dry rasp, but it quickly fades in coughing. Not average coughing, as Bracken has heard so many times before, but a horrible hack, one that sends shivers up his spine. Bracken bolts upright immediately, alarmed that he'd been happy a moment before and so easily dismissed the thought that Kendra's injured.

She doesn't look good at all, face white and clammy and hands shaking. The sound of her breathing is off, a very high, reedy noise instead of a soothing slow of air. Hurriedly, Bracken scoots next to her, laying her scratched head on his lap, and focuses. The rush of frightened emotions and pain scares Bracken. He can almost feel the pure hopelessness in the air as he gets his first taste of the amount of injuries Kendra's facing and fighting off, the ones he had pushed her to run with, the ones the owl queen had inflicted.

Crushed lungs, snapped ribs, punctured organs, internal bleeding, back sprained, going into shock… so many injuries.

It's too many. Way too many wounds.

Desperately, Bracken lays a hand on her sweat-drenched face and channels his energy into her fading damages, using his very-life force to heal her, siphoning away his soul with his will. But not even a unicorn can reverse the call of death, and Bracken can feel Kendra slipping from her body, and see the way her eyes begin to glaze, and hear her shallow breathes just barely escaping her. She looks up at him, his name whispered from noiseless lips. Over and over again, Bracken can see her mouth his name, like a prayer.

But he can't do anything.

Kendra is dying.

"I just got you back," Bracken whispers, lowering his head down to look into her distant green eyes, not shielding the pain in his voice. To his faint surprise, a tear trickles off the end of his nose and lands on her bloody cheek. "I just saved you. This is our happy ending. Our happy ever after. Everything turns out right! You can't leave me again. I won't let you. Please."

Kendra looks at him sadly, and mouths his name once more.

* * *

**You hate me. It's official. You hate me. Two cliffhangers in a row, and now I'm killing off the main character. Please don't kill me. I enjoy life, thank you. **

**But I promise I will fix this! Kendra will not die! Bracken is a bit too stubborn for that, if you haven't noticed!**

**This chapter's poll is: Chaos and his paintballs. Did you like that? Because I think I'm going to use it in future chapters. **

**I'm typing at the speed of light! Please don't hate me for my slowness! **

**Was this chapter too choppy? Please review!**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	20. Chapter 19

**Right, here we are! Please enjoy, and review! Reviewing helps more than you know!**

**Also: I am sorry about the amount of cliffhangers, for those of you that were concerned. It's how I keep myself flowing with ideas, how I keep the (at least) one-a-day chapters rolling. I think to myself: How will I resolve this? **

**And without further ado:**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

Bracken clasps Kendra's face desperately, tears welling in his eyes. He can feel the magic of his horn slowly fixing her crushed lungs and patching up her pierced kidney, but knows that something else is wrong, and if that something isn't fixed, then there's no way he's going to be able to heal his lovely light.

"Fight back," Bracken whispers, rubbing his thumb along her cheek. He spreads around her red blood, the red blood of frail humanity, with the bleak movement, but he doesn't care. Her eyes are locked on his face, yet a million miles away. Stifling a sob, Bracken dips his head and rests it on her chest, listening mournfully to the sound of her fading heartbeat. "For god's sake, Kendra, why aren't you fighting back?"

Bracken had heard something once about talking to patients, to invigorate them and keep them going. If anyone needs that, it's Kendra. Gulping down a breath of air, Bracken rockets away, contenting his mind with the thought that that, even if this doesn't work, the last thing Kendra ever hears will be sweet and loving. _Don't think like that_, he orders himself, and starts his babbling speech.

"Oh, Kendra, Kendra, Kendra, you lovely luminescent flower," grieves Bracken, pulling up from her chest in order to look into her eyes, not caring whether his speech is modern or classical. "If you could only see my love for you, if such a potent force could only be visible to your eyes, then you would be able to behold my passion for everything about your grace. Alas, I doubt anything could be a fair representation of such an intoxicating emotion, yet it would be a sight to behold for certain. Oh, Kendra, if you only could read my thoughts the way I am capable of peering through yours, then you would truly know how deep my affections for you are, but even they are a feeble display of my true love for everything about you, in body and soul."

Kendra's eyes twitch, and they roll to look at him. Encouraged by her response, Bracken continues. "My beautiful Kendra, ever since that moment in the cell at the Living Mirage, I knew that our destinies would be intertwined, but never did I ever imagine such a wonderful love would spring forth from my soul! Never before have I ever beheld a women on this level of brilliance, nor have I ever met one quite so fine and beautiful! I saw your magnificence on the first day of our acquaintance, Kendra, but as I have stated before, unicorns are timid beasts, and I was not close to being able to describe my true passions to you.

"Throughout that perilous journey, I felt myself falling for your compassion, though rather unwillingly initially. The way you would hold yourself, putting aside your own emotions and cares for the well-being of others, it attracted me like a smitten bee to the most fragrant of blossoms. I had no choice but to love every inch of you, Kendra. You are the most important thing in my life, Kendra. And now Fate is taking you from me. How cruel life is!" Kendra's chest convulses, and his magic works inside of her body with increased speed. Reinvigorated, Bracken continues.

"Some within the Fairy Kingdom doubt by sobriety for the exact reasons that wicked Tatiana described, but I know I mustn't listen to them, for they cannot appreciate your beauty as I can. They think, just as she, that a Prince should not even be socializing with a handmaiden, much less showing the adoration I display for you, flawless Kendra. However, I am the one unfit to be with _you_, aweing Kendra, which they believe is lovesick nonsense. They scold me, but alas, I care not. For you are my Kendra, my darling Kendra, and I do not believe anything could be more important to me.

"Sweet Kendra, you have not a clue how beautiful you truly are. You think yourself lesser of those around you, and yet are kind and humble all the same. I love that about you, my dear Kendra. I love everything about you. Oh, if you could only grasp the way I think of you, my gorgeous Kendra! You are an addiction in my thoughts, you see, and one of the most dangerous type. I have come to depend on the beautiful light you emit, relying on you solely to illuminate my way. Now that you are leaving me, departing for a wonderful place, I must truly consider what I will do now, without my lovely star guiding me. I will most assuredly be punished into a life of darkness and depression, which I most assuredly deserve after allowing this to become of my precious Kendra." Bracken brushes a strand of hair from her face, sighing sadly, refusing to let himself react to the race of her heart in her veins and the returning sparkle in her eyes.

"Oh, wondrous Kendra, if you could simply see the way I worship you! For the longest time, I would simply stare at your eyes and attempt to determine the exact shade of green they shine, always failing and missing terribly, not even able to simply describe the complexity of your features. You are my light, Kendra." Bracken swallows with difficulty. "I do not want you to leave me. I do not want to allow your soul to exit such a splendid body, because although it cannot display the hidden beauty within your spirit, such exquisiteness should not be wasted, and your soul will undoubtedly depart with it." Another tear lands on Kendra's cheek. "Please, I beg of you, with every cell in my unworthy body, with every ounce of my being, I beg that you do not leave me alone. Please, my lovely Kendra." Bracken breaks off with a shaking breath, tears threatening to escape his eyes.

Something warm brushes underneath his eye, something familiar, and Kendra's heart beats back at its normal pace. Bracken's eyes snap open to catch sight of Kendra's hand brushing away his tears with the most gorgeous green eyes twinkling in boundless love. "My unicorn," she sighs. Bracken can feel the immediate change in her heart rate and healing speed underneath his hands, feel her fighting back against death, and feel his light _winning_ the battle for life. "My big, sappy unicorn."

"I am yours," breathes Bracken, unwilling to cut off the oxygen exchange flowing from her mouth but unable to stop himself from swooping down and pressing his lips to hers. He isn't sure how long they stay there, mouths pressed together and hands wrapped around each other, but it isn't long enough. When they finally break apart, Bracken whispers, "I will always be yours."

Kendra laughs. "I'm going to hold that against you, ya know."

Bracken smiles tenderly at his beautiful Kendra, laughing once more, displaying her brilliance for all. "I know."

* * *

Cadeliah shakes out her fur, exercising her sore muscles. Healing the astrid boy had taken more energy than she'd anticipated, but it had been necessary. With a sigh, she notices the determined group beginning to form. They're going to confront her about the Cadeliah/Swift-Song madness.

Chaos rolls his eyes as she passes. The King of Shadows had known all along about her true identity, and had found it ridiculous that no one else had noticed. He shoots Cadeliah an incredulous glance, before rising and padding off in undeserved annoyance.

Zia, Cassandra, and Alec alight next to Cadeliah. Smiling pleasantly, the wolf sinks into a sitting position.

"I've known you for, what, five hundred years?" asks Zia bluntly. "Would it have killed you to say, 'Oh, by the way, Zia, I'm an ancient wolf that legends are told about and tons of hunters are constantly trying to kill me, just so you know!'" Zia shakes her owlish head in annoyance, yellow eyes flashing in irritation.

"No, it wouldn't have killed me," answers Cadeliah candidly, "but all my children, on the other hand…"

"We could've helped defend them better!" insists Zia. "We could've caught that filthy son of a – uh, witch that has the Soul Stone and ripped him to pieces!"

Cadeliah shakes her head sadly. "Exactly why you couldn't have known until this moment. You are much too violent."

Zia sniffs indignantly. "Well, now I'm not going to talk to you again."

Alec laughs. "I wonder how long this one will last." Zia smacks him with her wing, a solid blow by the sound of it. He smiles, unperturbed.

"It will last three-point-four hours," calculates Cadeliah, judging the owl's indignant expression and her prior knowledge of Zia's character to make an accurate estimate. "Then she will be unable to resist her intriguing questions bubbling underneath the surface, the ones only I am adequate to answer."

Cassandra shakes her head. "The legends aren't incorrect retaining your odd intelligence. They're spot on." Her head moves almost in a complete circle, dark eyes alert. "Totally coming out of nowhere with this, but what happened to the unicorn and Kendra?"

"_Bracken_," corrects Cadeliah, "and Kendra are safely tucked away into a den on the right side of Eagle's Creek. How they got past the eagle owning Eagle's Creek, don't ask me, but that's where they are."

They all stare at her. "How could you possibly know that?" questions Alec dubiously.

Cadeliah shrugs, hoping that she's not bragging. "I saw it twenty-six thousand years ago, back in the days when I still had that annoying Lion-Heart with me. Of course, I had no idea what was happening at the time. I knew Bracken, but I hadn't been able to figure out what he was doing with a fairkind child. It makes sense now that it's played out. It always does." She leans forward nudging fretfully at Cassandra's snowy feathers. "Are there any injuries? Any bruises? Anything at all?"

"We're fine," soothes Alec, flapping from beside Zia to Cadeliah's withers, laying a wing along her neck. "You're exhausted, Cadeliah. We can all see you swaying on your feet. You need help more than any of us. Let's get you home to your pups, okay?"

"No," insists Cadeliah, shrugging off his touch. "We need to help out with discovering what Tatiana's planning to inflict, and attempt to-"

She breaks off with a gasp, feeling nausea rise in her throat, and her golden eye burn with uncomfortable heat. Cadeliah shivers, collapsing to the ground, and releases her hold on her mind as the Time-Trance slinks over her body.

Cadeliah sees the black-eyed wolves again, gazing at their cackling faces and scrunched ears hazed by gold light. But there's more. One rips into the flesh of the one next to it, and the entire group becomes a bloodbath of wolves slashing into each other, laughing merrily and occasionally accidently biting into their own flesh.

And then she sees Tatiana chuckling face, that red beak clacking with laughter. Cadeliah hears the word whispered, "Titanium." And Cadeliah understands with a shock of lightning travelling through her spirit.

Titanium. The Titanium Plague.

Oh. Oh, oh, oh.

And then Cadeliah feels like she's falling again, spiraling to the ground. Golden mist swirls around her, words are uttered, and figures move within the fog. Nothing emerges until she catches sight of the white winged wolf again, his fairylike wings clouded by the gold. "Mum!" he howls, reaching for her, before being spun back into the waterfalls of fog.

Cadeliah's eyes are transfixed by the sight of her gorgeous violet Soul Stone, twirling next to her. The Sorenson boy dives from the golden mist, and nudges the sacred stone towards her, sending it spiraling up to her chest. A glow engulfs Cadeliah, and she awakens from her Time-Trance with a start.

Cadeliah almost smacks into the concerned owl faces of Cassandra and Zia hovering above her. The astrid twins jerk back with surprised squawks. "She's up!" cries Cassandra, placing a claw on Cadeliah's forehead. "And looking very sick!"

Cadeliah feels sick. Sick and feverish. But she rolls to her feet, tossing the two girls off of her shoulder and regaining her stance unsteadily. She shakes out her fur, throwing off snow that had gotten clumped in her hairs.

"We need," Cadeliah croaks, padding slowly toward her den through the snow, "to contact Seth Sorenson."

* * *

_Your sister and Bracken are alive_. Seth pauses in his nonstop pacing and pricks, his spine tingling pickling. His voice is back! Seth realizes the stone is glowing slightly, so he hurries up and closes his backpack before whispering back, "How do you know that?"

_I have told you previously that I can't spill secrets,_ Seth, the voice chides. Seth frowns. Usually, the mysterious lady that talks in his head sounds uplifted and cheerful, always looking on the bright side of things when it decides to keep him company in a few of Chaos's more unbearable lessons. Not this time. It sounds weary and a million years old, like the world is riding on her shoulders._ They're on their way, so keep an eye on the back entrance to the den. Don't tell anyone about this message, or even display an attitude of hopefulness, because that would tip the others off. Continue your pacing. This message is only for your peace of mind._

"Thank you," murmurs Seth, returning to his back and forth cycles past Warren and Vanessa in each other's arms and Tanu's nervous potion-sorting and poison-organizing. Mara watches him silently as he passes, like she knows there's something wrong.

Warren frowns. "You say something, Seth?"

Fiona inspects Seth critically. "Yes," she growls, eyes burning with distaste. "Yes, he did." She bolts to her feet, suddenly dismissing Seth, with her eyes wide and nostrils flaring. Jerking her head around the cave, eyes frantic, she yelps, "Oh my god, where's Brach?"

Seth has no answers. The voice in his head becomes fevered with panic.

* * *

Bracken lets out a rattling sigh and gently sets Kendra down on a little ledge that's somewhat less damp than the rest of the dripping cave. She smiles up at him, confused. He hadn't seemed to be tiring at all.

Kendra had insisted that Bracken not spend all of his unicorn-y energy on her, something he'd argued about. She still has a few bumps and bruises that bother her slightly, but if she says anything about it, Bracken would be all, "Oh Kendra my lovely light I beg of you to allow me to heal your injuries and ease your peace of mind!" It had been sweet for a bit, but then Bracken apparently had forgotten how to speak anything but the eighteenth century.

So they'd inched their ways through the caverns, picking their way through the rocks and stalagmites and stuff. Everything had been okay for a few miles, until they'd reached the slippery slopes they're now resting in. Kendra had slipped across the wet floor and sprained her ankle. That had been the last straw for her unicorn boyfriend. Bracken hadn't taken any complaints or arguments, just scooping her up into his arms and marching through the caves with his special footing. Something about how unicorns have perfect positions in the wilderness.

"Something the matter, Unicorn?" questions Kendra, raising her eyebrows at his nervous expression. "You're not looking so good."

Bracken swallows. "I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before. It was kinda stupid." Ah. He's talking normal again. "Kendra, please, do this for me more than anything. It'll help me to relax."

Kendra glances at him oddly. "Uhhh Huhhhh."

Bracken pulls something long and pearly out of his back belt loop, the object emitting a soft ivory glow and offers it to her. "Will you, Kendra Sorenson, the sole love of my life, take my first horn in a token of my admiration?"

Kendra's horrified at the offer of the shimmering horn held out to her. She blurts out rudely, "No!" before she can stop herself. Bracken retracts abruptly at her reject, his silvery blue eyes glimmering with hurt and confusion. Realizing how that might've been received, Kendra rushes on.

"Bracken, I mean – Bracken," laughs Kendra incredulously, taking Bracken's hands in her own, massaging all of his callouses and silver cuts and nicked scrapes. He looks at her with eyes struggling to understand as Kendra tries to form a statement. "Bracken," Kendra sighs, gazing up at him with eyes begging for comprehension, "you've only got two horns left. You – you can't just go around giving them away, no matter how important you think it is, Bracken! It's not healthy! You – well, you just can't!"

Bracken stares at her for a second, before throwing his head back with a musical laugh. "Is that what this is about? Kendra, you're _fairykind_. I'll still maintain a greater connection to my horn than if it were to be in the hands of a human. It'll keep you and I linked like a communicator, except you can use it to defend yourself, which will be basically like using me as your shield. Check this out." Bracken flips the horn up in the air like a long coin. It lands in his hand as a pearly dagger with a golden hilt. He throws it up again and it becomes a silver bracelet with pearl beads. Again he throws it up, and the bracelet reverts back to its original shape as a swirling unicorn horn. "It will help me sleep at night, Kendra, not detract from my power. You're acting like you want me to spend countless nights tossing and turning." He laughs.

Kendra hesitates, still not completely sold. "You'll still be able to draw power from it?" she verifies, hesitantly spanning half the gap between her hand and his outstretched horn.

"Not that I find much use in this old thing, anyway, but yes," reassures Bracken playfully, twirling it between his fingers tantalizingly. Kendra hesitates still.

"You will reclaim it if you need it," she growls threateningly, glaring at him. Bracken holds his hands up in surrender, still spinning his horn expertly like a swag-unicorn. "Promise me that, at least."

"I give you my solemn oath," chuckles Bracken, holding it out to her. "Just take it, Kendra."

That just increases her suspicions. "It didn't change for me at Wyrmroost," points out Kendra. "You know about that, right? Right. Why should it change now?"

Bracken smiles in amusement. "Well, I'm not stuck in a prison at the bottom of a ziggurat, for starters. I'm more powerful, and, ya know, so is the horn. It's all powerfull-y and stuff now. Very new. You're also different from the girl stumbling through a dragon sanctuary, Kendra." Bracken's eyes soften. "You've changed since then. We've only grown more compatible as the years tick by." He holds out his horn once again. "Please, Kendra."

Kendra hesitates, and then snatches the smooth horn up from his extended hand. Bracken shudders, and then smiles tenderly at Kendra as she admires his horn. It's heavier than it looks, like a weight, and cool to the touch. The beauty of him makes her catch her breath. The pearly surface is more polished then she remembers it, probably accounting to Bracken's loving care. Kendra makes a mental note to keep it in this condition.

_Yes, _rings Bracken's voice inside her brain, making Kendra jump, _I had a feeling you would enjoy my glossiness. Now you'll always carry a piece of me around with you. _He grins beatifically at her, and warm emotions rush Kendra from the horn.

"Okay, stop that," demands Kendra, shaking her head. "It's disorienting. How do I get it to turn into… uh, anything?"

Bracken's smile grows. "Just push the power of your mind on me. I'll respond. Focus your emotions on me, or, ah, my horn, shoving your will before mine. I promise you I'll do as you please."

Kendra's eyes narrows as she focuses, holding her breath. Very gradually, maddeningly slow compared to Bracken's demonstration, the horn in her hand slowly morphs into a small golden ring with an abalone orb set atop the shining metal. Kendra laughs in triumph at the small trinket, Bracken's presence still lingering through the ring. "Okay, I'll admit, that's tremendously cool."

Bracken smiles at her slyly. "I'm pretty cool, yes." Kendra rolls her eyes, and rubs the ring in the palm of her hand with her thumb absentmindedly as she thinks of a part of Bracken's soul being with her at all times. She doesn't think anything of the movement until he shudders, closing his eyes and moaning.

"Sorry," Bracken apologizes with a thick voice. "I can feel my horn – or, ah, my ring – in this close proximity and that motion you're doing is _wonderful_. Almost as wonderful as you."

Kendra glances down in surprise, her thumb pausing. Bracken's eyes open. "Sorry, I was being a creeper, wasn't I?" he apologizes with a sigh, shaking his head in exasperation for himself. Through the ring/horn, she can feel Bracken's disappointment with himself; he'd thought he'd finally become adept at being normal, when he goes and does something like this. He blames himself for his lack of social skills, and believes that he's a complete idiot. Kendra smiles at him tentatively, and continues to massage the ring. Bracken shivers and looks at her in tender disbelief.

"I don't care if it's creepy," explains Kendra with a small smile. "You like it, and that's fine by me."

* * *

**See? No cliffhanger! A decent sized chapter! I'm not a terrible person!**

**This is probably going to be my last update for a while, so I felt indebted to come to some sort of conclusion. Okay, this chapter's poll is: The whole thing with Bracken's first horn. It's always been a sort of head-canon that he would give her his horn, but I've noticed that no one else has come up with it. Do you guys no anyone else that thought of it? Please review and tell me what you thought!**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	21. Chapter 20

**Hiyaas! I'm back! Okay, for those of you that loved Bracken's speech, I loved writing it! For those of you that thought it was weird, so did Kendra. Sorry for the long wait, I'm back, and writing faster than ever!**

**Probably going to write something here.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

Kendra hears the playful yipping laugh before she sees him. Brach, the lame little pup without a reflection, dancing on his two hind legs in front of the chimera Kendra had scared off. Bracken freezes in place with Kendra in his arms, eyes the size of quarters.

The chimera doesn't look all that tolerant of the white pup, snarling at it, fur standing on end and goat hooves pawing at the ground. However, Brach doesn't stop. Kendra's heart moves into her throat as she gawks at the helpless pup, blindly wandering closer and closer to the chimera.

_He's going to get killed,_ whispers Bracken into her mind, accompanying the statement with a sensation of mounting horror.

Kendra rolls her eyes. _Thanks, Captain Sunshine. Set me down._

Bracken tries his hardest, Kendra can tell, to set her down quietly, but she still makes a noise as she regains her balance on the slick cave floor. Brach's ears prick. He drops back to all fours, swiveling around to look at them, putting his back to the chimera. Kendra gasps, lurching forward, but unable to stop the claws of the chimera from whipping through the air.

With a pained yowl, Brach gets tossed into the cave wall, ribbons of red tracing up his back in a map of the chimera's blow. Kendra stumbles forward over the slick floor, ignoring the spitting chimera behind her plus Bracken's exasperated: "Kendra!" and scoops him up. He's lighter than she remembered, and hangs limp in her arms. Red liquid pours over her arms, sticky and warm. His milky eyes are closed, and his pink tongue dangles from his mouth. Brach whines softly, trying to right himself.

Quickly, Kendra jogs back to Bracken's side. She wants the unicorn to heal Brach, to patch him up, but he's absorbed in countering the chimera's feints and lunges. The sight of Bracken facing off with the chimera doesn't really sit well with Kendra. In fact, it does quite the opposite. She rolls her eyes, impressed by the fact that Bracken's just as blind as human men.

"Bracken!" she calls as he blocks a strike from the chimera's claws with his sword-horn. "This didn't go so well last time!"

Bracken steadfastly ignores Kendra.

Kendra falls to the ground, gently laying Brach on her lap. She strokes his fur, massaging around his ears, trying to calm him. "Sh, buddy, it's going to be okay… You'll see, Bracken's going to kill the chimera, and then we'll be okay…"

A thought makes Kendra choke up. All of his life, being so helpless has made him into a loving fluff ball, forced to trust everything he meets, never being able to comprehend pity or scorn or dislike or anger, never understanding that everyone in the world isn't his friend. Now, he's been shoved into a cold dark world, filled with the realization that not everyone is his companion. For a pup that doesn't know up from down, that's heartbreaking for Kendra.

She leans forward and presses her lips to his furry forehead, forgetting about the power of a fairykind kiss.

Brach erupts in a party of burning golden sparks. Kendra instinctively shoves the scorching mass of golden and white sparkles off her lap, allowing it to grow. Her eyes widen as it convulses and ripples, growing like a massive star of flashing lights. She hears Bracken gasp, and then a triumphant howl from inside of the sparks, growing deeper and stronger throughout its duration.

A ginormous white wolf drops to the ground on four straight legs and flawless paws, flexing his huge muscles threateningly. A long tail swishes through the air. He opens his mouth and snarls, revealing fangs the size of daggers. But that's not what makes Kendra quiver with self-inflicted fear.

The white wolf raises a pair of fairy wings menacingly, growling at the chimera like a wolf god.

The chimera shivers, detaching from Bracken, baring its long yellow teeth in fear. "Spare me!" it begs, backing away from the white wolf with wide frightened eyes. "I – I – …I did not mean it! Spare me!" And with that the chimera is gone, scampering down the tunnel with wails of terror.

The white wolf yawns, closing his eyes, and collapses on the ground next to Kendra, whining and looking up at her. Kendra blinks in shock. The wolf's innocent eyes are an unusual color. They're not quite pale pink but not exactly light orange. Oranger than salmon. His wings are like a monarch's, except with light pink and light orange and white instead of dark orange and black. He makes a gurgling noise, and then opens his mouth, allowing his tongue to loll out with a very familiar puppy smile.

"Brach?" whispers Kendra in disbelief. The wolf's smile widens.

"That's me," he laughs with a light voice. Kendra blinks in shock. Brach has a voice like his mum, except its higher and a tad less musical. Judging by the cadence of his voice, Brach, the former adorable puppy, is now a teenager. A sweet, cuddly teenager, but a teenager nonetheless.

"How-?" chokes Kendra. The wolf shrugs.

"I dunno. One moment I am stumbling around with scratches that hurt, the next I'm huge and big and can see and can walk. Actually, I am not trying to walk. That'll only humiliate me further."

"Extraordinary," murmurs Bracken, walking up and extending a hand towards Brach's white pelt, his silvery blue eyes blown wide with wonder. "I've heard rumors about the kiss of a fairykind, but this – this is truly amazing! He's an entire new form of life!"

"He can hear you," reminds Brach, cocking his head.

"Ah, sorry, yes," apologizes Bracken sheepishly. "How exactly are you speaking right now? That should be impossible."

Brach frowns and tilts his head. "I don't know much, only what my mum's streamed into my mind throughout the years about who I am, but I am pretty sure that wolves are born with the powers of speech, like animals or whatever. I mean, nobody teaches a deer to speak. There's no speech therapist for squirrels. Plus, I've got a few of Kendra's memories swirling around in here." He taps his head with his paw and nods.

"I'm not sure how it's possible, but I'm intrigued," hums Bracken, looking Brach over, circling the big puppy.

Brach looks at Bracken with wide eyes. "You're a unicorn, right?"

Bracken's taken aback. "Ah, yes."

"Cool!" yips the puppy. He giggles like a little kid and rolls onto his back, waggling his feet in the air as he laughs. Bracken just stares at him with a frown. "Doesn't that hurt your wings?"

Brach halts his happy dance, and flips to his feet, glancing at his back in surprise. "My wings?" His eyes widen as he takes in the huge fairy wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. "Oh, cool!" Brach flaps them experimentally, stirring the air in the dank cavern. Something wails in the darkness from one of the tunnels, causing him to pause and raise his head, eyes searching down the dismal cave in bewildered awe.

"Never heard something like that before," he harrumphs, "but it can't be good. Shall we go?"

Kendra's still shocked to see the little Brach had become not-so-little-Brach. "Uh…"

"Yes," answers Bracken for her, holding out his hand and gently tugging Kendra to her feet. His hand is warm and strong within her grasp, so Kendra tightens her hold, unwilling to let go.

"Okay," hums Brach. "Which way?"

"No clue," babbles Kendra.

"Hmm." The white wolf takes a big sniff, closing his eyes and focusing. His wings furl up somehow. "We have the passage on the right that leads upwards. There's something big and faintly smelling like pigs racing towards up from that pass, which is a confrontation I'd like to avoid with Kendra going into shock and her bad foot. We have the route behind us, but the chimera traveled that way. Again, I'd like to avoid that. We have the direction you came, but that would be completely redundant. We could go either down the tunnel to our back left, the tunnel looping by roaring water and slick animal smells, or the one directly in front of me. I think that's our best choice, considering the linger of wolf scent originating from that shaft. What do you say, Bracken?"

"Front sounds good to me," laughs Bracken frankly. He scoops Kendra up, jolting her a bit, and walks briskly forward. Brach's first hesitant steps are unsteady and awkward, bumpy pace that makes Kendra wince in pity. By the time he reaches the mouth of the tunnel, though, he has a sort of klutzy rhythm, even though it's nowhere near as graceful as some of the adult wolves.

With clumsy fingers, Kendra grasps Bracken's horn. Not using words, she sends him all of her confusion and fright and guilt. Bracken looks down at her sadly.

_I'm sorry,_ is all Bracken says.

* * *

"Swift-Song!" cries Seth as the brown wolf walks in crisply through the back entrance. Sure, the nice lady wolf isn't what he'd been praying to cross through the door, but he's relieved she's okay. Swift-Song smiles at him warmly, opening her mouth to respond, but Zia beats her to it, popping her head out from the darkness.

"That isn't her name," Zia snaps, walking to the center of the room. Everybody looks at her in bewilderment. Seth frowns, creasing his brow.

"Whatdaya mean, that isn't her name?" questions Warren with a frown, quitting playing with Vanessa's black hair. "That's Swift-Song."

"No," sighs the she wolf wearily, ears folding. She looks down, eyes drooping tiredly. "No, that isn't my name. The name I was born with, at least."

Seth frowns, noticing that Fiona's become very quiet. Mara leans forward. "The name you were born with? What do you mean?"

Swift-Song sighs, shaking her head. She looks millions of years old, like an artifact from prehistoric eras, a remnant from the ancient past, and someone that's seen so much more than mortal eyes are supposed to handle. "Wolf culture is different from human culture," explains Swift-Song thickly. "If you've noticed, people of this clan have two names. _Thunder_-Soul. _Snow_-Angel. It's customary that, if you move to a new clan with different rules, your name be changed to whatever title is average."

"I didn't want to," mutters Fiona, rolling her eyes. "I mean, what's the point? This clan's obviously not going to last much longer."

"Hush," growls Swift-Song, looking at her daughter sinisterly. "I still don't know why you couldn't just change your name to Flicker-Flame. It's not _that_ different from Fiona."

"It's the most different thing in the world!" explodes Fiona, eyes burning with irritation.

"Quiet," snaps Zia. "Go on… _Swift-Song_." The word sounds like a taunt to Seth's ears.

Swift-Song sighs deeply. "My name was not always Swift-Song. My name used to inspire fear in my enemies." She hangs her head. "My name bound species together. My name united everyone. My name used to make demons quake in their boots. That is, if they were wearing boots. But why would a demon wear boots? My, that's a funny phrase!"

"Off topic," reminds Zia.

"Oops," apologizes Swift-Song. Her eyes, one blue and one gold, flash up to Seth's face, holding those ancient emotions. Seth frowns, some distant memory tugging at the back of his brain… But Swift-Song squares her shoulders and cuts off his thoughts. "My name," she announces, "is not Swift-Song. My name is _Cadeliah_."

Silence hangs in the air like a heavy tarp. Seth blinks, and the truth comes crashing down on him like a lead weight. Cadeliah, the mother wolf. Cadeliah, the wolf with one golden eye. Cadeliah, the one that always has to move on. Cadeliah, the wolf that never dies. Cadeliah, the wolf that has songs song about her glory every night. Cadeliah, the Soul Bearer.

"I am Cadeliah," she continues, eyes panning over the group of gawking humans. "I am the Cadeliah you hear of in legends, the eternal mother, the hunter of sins, and a nightmare come true for all those that oppose me. Rival me and threaten my pups, whether biological or not, and you will be crushed. Befriend me and allow yourself to be taken under my wing, and I will show you a whole new world for only those that are lucky enough to see it."

After a moment of silence, Zia remarks, "Mental distractor spells can be annoying, can't they?"

"But – but that means that you're superbly intelligent!" gasps Tanu. "Do you have any potions you care to share with an interested traveler?"

"You can see into the future?" asks Warren, interest shining in his eyes.

Seth doesn't join the hullaballoo of questions, but tries to keep himself from vomiting. Because with Cadeliah's distractor spell, he senses another one slipping, one concealing the truth about the large purplish gem secretly tucked away in his backpack, where he'd greedily hidden it from his companions. His hands shake.

Not looking at Seth, Cadeliah clears her throat and announces, "Yes, I can see the future, and also I can sense my soul out there in the hands of another. I know precisely who has it. I know precisely where they are, what they're thinking at this exact moment. I must go soon, to locate Bracken and Kendra and my son, but know this, Soul Stealer:" – her eyes sweep the room, not resting on Seth for any longer than anyone else – "I know that you're here, in this room, staring at me with extreme guilt. I know that you're scared of me. You're ashamed with yourself. And that's okay. But I warn all of you this, my children: do not seek out the Soul Stealer, and to the Soul Stealer, do not reveal your identity to anyone, least of all a wolf. If you utter a word about this calamity to anyone outside this room, you will all be ripped apart and your souls cursed to forever wander the earth in repayment for your crimes. Heed my advice, dear children. Bye-bye!"

And with that, Cadeliah, the great and powerful wolf, wheels around and darts back into the cave, brown tail flashing like a wave of farewell.

* * *

"Brackendra!" cries a familiar voice, and Thunder-Bolt rises from the mass of giggling puppies. He springs towards them with a huge grin, before stopping in his tracks with a puzzled look on his face. "Brackendra and, uh…"

Brach tilts his head. "I associate your scent with the sensation of wind in my fur and exhilarating speeds. Why is that?"

Thunder-Bolt is dumbfounded. "Huh?"

Kendra sends Bracken a pulse through his horn, and he sets her down. "We ran into Brach in the tunnels," explains Kendra. "He got injured by a chimera, and I kissed him. Then… well, then this happened. He got all big and stuff."

Thunder-Bolt gasps. "You're Brach?"

Brach turns to the side and twitches his wings, cocking his eyebrows. "New and improved."

"Do you know anything about that?" asks Bracken. Thunder-Bolt frowns and chew on his black lips thoughtfully, face scrunching with his thought process.

"Can't say I do," he says slowly. "I've heard rumors, though. You can ask Cadeliah, though. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to give you a three page long speech and a PowerPoint projection to go with it."

Bracken and Kendra exchange a glance. "You know about Cadeliah?" she questions, eyeing him suspiciously.

Thunder-Bolt makes an awed face. "Yeah. She spilled the beans to your brother, and now everything's all over the communication veins! I don't know if anybody doesn't know about Cadeliah at this point!"

"Communication veins?" questions Bracken.

"Veins of copper that stretch throughout the entire sanctuary," explains Thunder-Bolt dismissively. "Howl something into it over here, they understand it over there because of vibrations and whatnot. Like old-fashioned cell phones."

Kendra sighs. "Poor Cadeliah. I don't think she wanted all the attention."

Thunder-Bolt shrugs. "If she's expecting me to give her the royal treatment from now on, well, I can veto that real quick! She's my friend, and if Cadeliah thinks that's going to change because she's famous now, it's not. But I guess this does mean that Flash-Foot is her nephew. And he didn't even know about it. Little guy's psyched."

"Aww," laughs Kendra. Thunder-Bolt smiles, and then gestures his head towards the den.

"Come inside," he invites, warmly moving out of the way for the group to pass by. Bracken tips his head respectfully and walks into the chamber. After a moment of hesitation, Kendra follows. She can feel Brach breathing at her heel.

Inside the room are a bunch of little pups, tiny balls of fuzz that aren't even past the toddler stage yet. They yawn and gawk up at Kendra and Bracken and lastly Brach, displaying toothless maws and tiny tongues, curled up against Sand-Heart and Flash-Foot.

"Pups, meet Bracken, Kendra, and Brach," introduces Thunder-Bolt, coming in after the fairy wolf. "Bracken's a unicorn, and Kendra's a fairykind."

A collective gasp rings around the cave, and all eyes fly to Bracken and Kendra. One pup inches forward. "How do you tell male from female?" he asks with the most adorable voice Kendra's ever heard. His amber eyes sparkle, reminding her of Aladdin.

"Well," starts Sand-Heart in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "females are generally smaller and slighter than males in build. They also have longer hair and usually better hygiene. No offense, Bracken. Males, on the other hand, are typically larger and taller and buffer. Females usually have higher voices, whereas males are deep. Like wolves, females are usually the more intelligent ones. No offense – you know what? Live with it, Bracken. Females have more delicate features, while men have strongly chiseled facial structures. Males have an angular and broad sort of body, meant to be packed with muscles but, most of the time, not. Females are curvier and naturally have increased fat that their counterparts. They also have, ah, rounder chests –"

"Boobs," whispers one pup knowingly.

"—and occasionally where paint on their faces, which they believe makes them prettier." By the end, she's cracking up because of the inappropriate comment interrupting her speech. Kendra joins her in laughing, not sure is she's offended or amused by the pup's tone of voice. Brach frowns in confusion.

"What?" he asks flatly, holding out his wings and cocking his head.

A pup gasps. "You're a fairy!" she exclaims gleefully, waddling up and gawping at him. Brach grins at her, gently leaning down and nudging the puppy cheerfully.

"Yuppers," he chuckles, fanning the air with brisk flaps of his fragile wings. The other pups bombard him, racing over to Brach and leaping on his shoulders and nipping at his ears until he collapses heavily, carefully positioning himself so he doesn't crush any pups. The pups hold a King of the Hill game, except it's called King of the Fairy Wolf. The winner is Flash-Foot, softly tossing any of the smaller pups off of the patiently chuckling Brach with the broad of his head, eyes burning with blue flames.

Thunder-Soul pads over to his mate and whispers something in her ear. Sand-heart looks at Brach with wide eyes as the fairy wolf rises, shaking out his wings. She rises and bows curtly. "Please, stay as long as you like, Brach. You too, Kendra and Bracken."

"Actually," booms a deep, musical voice from the direction of the chamber entrance, "Kendra's brother's about to go through the roof with worry back at my den, so I might have to take you all home."

Brach freezes, ears flattening against his head, and position lowering. He tucks his tail between his legs, and slowly inches towards the figure looming from the darkness.

"Mum?" Brach whines, licking Cadeliah's muzzle submissively. "Mum, it's me, Brach."

Cadeliah gasps, and studies her son with pain-filled eyes, noting his wings and eyes and healed legs. Her expression traumatized, Cadeliah looks at Kendra with horrified disbelief. Kendra's heart skips a beat at the message clearly conveyed there: "What have you done to my son?"

But the moment passes, and Cadeliah surges forward, clutching her son to her chest, sinking to her feet with ecstatic sobs, holding Brach to her and refusing to let go. Brach's tail begins wagging, slowly building speed until it's just a white blur.

"Mum," he chokes, curling up in her embrace.

"Brach," she whispers, a tear slipping from her blue eye.

* * *

"Everyone's staring at me," says the white wolf bluntly as he whips his head around, his undulating fairy wings held upright. "Stahp it."

"Who's the fairy?" questions Warren with a frown.

The white wolf looks at Warren indignantly. "You're the one that stole my bone." Seth frowns at the amount of sense in that statement.

"Huh?" wonders Vanessa aloud, a frown creasing her gorr-geous face.

"Fablehaven Questers," laughs the white wolf, sweeping into a bow and displaying his wings proudly, "meet the new and improved version of Brach!"

That takes a moment to sink in. Seth blinks in astonishment. "Brach? As in, Brach the little blind dude? The guy with the silly giggle?"

The fairy wolf looks at him with a crooked grin, his ears flattening. Seth's jaw drops as he releases the exact same laugh that he'd been referring to, with the silly face and everything. "That's me!"

"But – how?" whispers Fiona, standing up. Brach, if it is Brach, towers over her even without the combined height his massive butterfly wings give him. Fiona's eyes are a mix of confusion and horror. "What happened to you?"

"Kendra healed him." Cadeliah steps out of the shadows with her noble stance with the whisper of paws brushing against the cave floor, ears pricked and ruff spread. "She kissed him on the head and unknowingly remedied all of his injuries, along with a few notable additions. I think it's because of a DNA transplant, but I can't be sure. I'll need to research it."

Seth stares at the brown wolf nervously. Her blue and gold eyes rest on him for a casual amount of time, before scanning the room. She steps out of the tunnel, making way for Bracken cradling Seth's sister's limp form gently in his arms. Fearing the worst, Seth darts forward across the room, peering at Kendra's face anxiously.

"Don't be alarmed," whispers Bracken quietly, soothing Seth's fears. "She fell asleep on the way here. She needs the rest."

Seth nods, and holds a finger to his lips. "I'll be quiet. Can't be sure about everybody else, though."

Bracken shrugs slightly, careful not to stir Kendra. "Let's get her to a sleeping bag. Then we can talk."

Seth nods, eyes following Bracken as the unicorn gingerly sets Kendra down on her blue sleeping bag. He strokes a strand of hair out of Kendra's face before joining the marveled conversation retaining to Brach.

The fairy wolf flaps his wings rapidly, like some sort of humming bird, sending waves of air rushing into Seth's face. It makes a noisy _fwum fwum fwum_ sound, but Brach manages to lift all four paws a few inches off the ground. Panting, the wolf halts and drops back to the cave floor, head drooping and wings hanging.

"I'll go research," murmurs Cadeliah almost to herself, turning on heel and marching back through the cave entrance. "Keep an eye on each other! Fiona, with me."

Fiona obeys, instantly matching Cadeliah's stride with a sort of slick confidence. Like those gangsters Seth sees hanging around street corners with the baggy shirts and the pants halfway off their butts, Fiona has a sort of twisted dignity about her walk. She knows what she's doing. She can beat you up. That sort of aura.

A howl rings through the caves, not uttered from any of the wolves in the cavern, spooking then soothing Seth Sorenson.

"All clear! Free to exit! Repeat, all clear! The lockdown is over!"

* * *

Opening her eyes, Kendra's flooded by soft light. Rising, she realizes she must be dreaming. Nothing in reality is this weird. The light has a faintly greenish tint to it, and she can only see ten feet in any direction because of the milky jade fog billowing through the clearing. The grass underneath her hands is soft, like a bunch of silk ribbons. The meadow is spotted with lavender flowers, the gentle shade of lilac blending well with the pastel greens. A few bushes line one side, crawling with purple flowers the exact color of the lavender, though the bloom design is very different. Nothing makes any sound, not Kendra, or birds, or any sign of life anywhere.

Kendra's wearing a long gown, a slip made up of lots of different golden fabrics all stitched together. Somehow, it looks pretty on her, not just like a patchwork monster. Her feet are bare, and her hair is bound in a long hairdo tumbling over one shoulder. The tightly braided plait is longer than she remembers her hair have being, but it looks nice that way, so she doesn't complain.

Wander aimlessly, Kendra drifts over the soft grass through the bushes, the ones she figures out is a maze of poorly hedged greeneries. The dream hits the fast forward button, and Kendra finds herself in the center of the dreamy labyrinth.

Golden light pours from the clouded sky, warding off the fog fumbling at the edges of the clearing and illuminating the meadow. A small creek with water the color of the blue sky flows noiselessly. Resting on one of the boulders beside the brook is a golden wolf, one with purple eyes the color of the flowers twisting up around his paws. Calmly and slowly, the wolf lifts his handsome head and smiles gently at Kendra.

"Welcome," he greets, deep, pleasant voice echoing around in Kendra's brain confusingly. After so long in the quiet of her dream, it's unusual to hear a sound.

"Where am I?" asks Kendra, her voice bubbling the same way the wolf's did. "Who are you?"

The golden wolf looks around peacefully. "I'm not sure. You subconsciously chose the location, not I."

"Who are you?" repeats Kendra.

His eyes fasten onto hers. "I am a prince of a kingdom long lost. You may call me Boro."

"Is this real, Boro?" asks Kendra, panicking at the sensation of her mind awakening. "Is this a dream? How is this possible?"

Boro smiles twistedly. "I am real, and you are real, and wherever we may be is real, so why shouldn't this be?"

And then the golden wolf is gone, fading as Kendra rouses with a start, safely tucked into her sleeping bag.

* * *

**NO CLIFFHANGER! I am on a roll! Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and stuff! My poll this time is: What do you guys think Seth is going to do about his dilemma with having to kill wolves and also holding their soul? I'm very interested to see what you guys have to say.**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	22. Chapter 21

**Wow! 1000+ views! This is awesome! Thanks, guys!**

**Sorry for the abruptness of last chapter and Brach. It was hinted at in earlier chapters, but otherwise it was kinda like, "SURPRISE!" Also, I will try to tone down the Bracken sappiness from now on. Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One**

"Tell me the truth," murmurs Kendra quietly, startling the brown wolf as she shuffles through her piles of old scrolls and paintings. Cadeliah rises, bowing her head slightly. Kendra assumes the she wolf had gotten all of these documents from the library, but she can't be sure. Her desk is littered with the parchment, and very messy for the organized Soul Bearer's standards, proof that Cadeliah's been screening through scrolls without pause for hours on end.

Cadeliah cocks her head, blue and gold eyes glowing warmly. "On what, Kendra?"

"What did I do to Brach?" Kendra asks bluntly, collapsing on one of the beanbags Cadeliah insists on having everywhere. "Ever since he was changed by me, people have been whispering and gawking and shielding their pups away from him, like Brach is some sort of a monster or something. And when you first saw him, you were appalled. So, what did I do to Brach?"

Cadeliah stares at her for a moment. She pads over to a different desk and gently tips a beaker with a radioactive symbol stamped on the glass into a tube with some other stuff, making it bubble and fume. She patiently waits, stirring the potion with a wooden spoon and humming to herself as the goopy liquid smolders. Finally, Cadeliah yanks the spoon out, taps it several times on the rim of the glass to rid excess potion, sets it cautiously on a black placemat, and turns back to Kendra with sad eyes.

"There are no official records of this," she sighs, moving over to one of her bookshelves and yanking out a big navy blue book. Kendra focuses on the silver title, but can't make anything out. It looks like the written Wolfen she'd seen etched onto the statues at the gateway to the sanctuary. "There are no written accounts of wolves with fairy wings, except for my own past experiences, which I cannot rely on wholly. However" – Cadeliah moves along to the least messy of her desk, still pushing aside a toy ape and crazy looking sunglasses, and places the book on the desk, gingerly flipping through the pages – "there are _legends_."

Cadeliah pauses on a page and places one ebony claw onto a sketch drawn on a crinkly piece of parchment. Kendra moves forward, mouth dropping open. It's a picture of a wolf like Brach, with wings and a huge size. Its fur is outlined with a grey ink pen, leading Kendra to believe that the massive wolf was the color of a creek stone. A silver helmet shrouds most of its face, delicate and curling, with no leather straps. Her wings, reminding Kendra of the swallowtail butterflies that occasionally join the fairies in the garden, are a mess of swirling blue lines and unprofessional grey splashes. Her eyes are the only things that aren't just outlined; they're a deep, deep blue, like two furious sapphires glaring up from the paper.

But that's not what gives Kendra the chills.

The wolf is resting on a bed of lush green ferns, with a rabid snarl twisting its features. Red blood splatters over its delicate paws, and its abnormally long fangs are tipped with the silver blood of unicorns. As Kendra inspects the picture, the wolf appears to be insane, glaring at the reader with crazy snarls and mad eyes. A shiver cascades down her spine.

"What—?" whispers Kendra in shock. "Who is that?"

"I've met her once," says Cadeliah grimly, "and the fairy tales don't give River-Song justice. She's ten times more vicious, but remorseful and just searching for approval for once in her miserable life. The poor thing went through hell. Back in the old days, between the reign of the Angel Alpha and the Fairy Queen, many unicorns became tainted by power. I was growing up then, with the Soul Stone already strapped beneath my chin, so it was hell for me, too. Powerful unicorns would create fairykind servants to act as their scapegoats. Then they'd send them out to tear pups from frail mothers and injure the young wolves, just to heal them with a kiss. That is one ability fairykind always have in common. The Kiss of Life, it used to be called. Now, it is known as the Departure of Innocence among those who are old enough to remember those awful days."

Cadeliah shakes her head wearily. "The Fairy Wolves, they were unlike anything I've ever faced before. Fortunately, unicorns who had the talents to create fairykind were few and far between, so I didn't have to deal with the savage beasts often, but I still have nightmares form the few times I was unlucky enough to stumble upon a hostile Fairy Wolf. They were trained like demons by their fairykind masters, taught to think like mindless dogs. And that's all they were to the unicorns. Dogs. They would attack on command without mercy or emotion. Everything that made them Wolfen was cleansed from their minds. They became something _else_.

"Brach isn't like that at all, of course. He's sweet and kind and would never hurt something. He has my mind, I must say. But poor River-Song did too, originally, before a fairykind got its claws into the little pup she used to be. The fairykind, his name is rumored to be Raphael, changed her too old. River-Song knew the carefully inscripted codes of honor among wolves, and stuck to them. She didn't cooperate after seeing the monster she'd been turned into, and was sent off to be executed like a pig once her disobedience was clear. River-Song escaped, and had to fight off everyone she could. The wolves knew not that she was different from the others, and also attempted to remove her life. Mercenaries like Tatiana would also try to enslave young River-Song.

"River-Song became… something different, something more brutal than the common Fairy Wolves, something with morals, but not many of them, something with only one overall rule, a rule that overshadowed everything else: survive.

"River-Song discovered that the flesh of magical beings could better nourish her and boost her magical abilities by a tenfold. So, River-Song sought out evil dragons and twisted unicorns, and devoured them. River-Song discovered that fairykind meat was the best of all nutrition, filling up her soul more than anything else with magic bound into their, no, _your_, very bones and pumping through your veins. River-Song tasted your magic, and instantly craved it.

"She and the Fairy Queen worked hand in hand for an extended period of time, though the partners were always wary of each other, to exterminate the wicked unicorns and their servants from the earth. River-Song was also given the task of slaying every last one of her species, the Fairy Wolves. In kind for her services, River-Song would be allowed to live a half-life of exile and shame. The fairykind who had changed her into a monster had passed on immortality, and River-Song would have to stay alive, with no choice about it. The Fairy Queen and I wiped out every mention of the Fairy Wolves from the history books, sweeping every document in existence and removing all mention of the beasts and picking minds clean of memories. It was necessary, of course, in case future generations of unicorns got ahold of the knowledge of the power contained in those awesome wolves. Which reminds me. Even though Bracken's a charming young man, don't tell him about this."

Kendra blinks in shock, but Cadeliah pads over to the potion, which had started bubbling a few minutes ago, and pours in another glass bottle. The potion fumes a bit more, before turning perfectly clear, like water. Cadeliah smiles triumphantly at the bottle, before turning back to Kendra.

"Fairykind have a bloody past," she apologizes, ears flattening. She nuzzles Kendra softly, curling around her in a protective hug. After a stunned moment of hesitation, Kendra links her hands around Cadeliah's neck, letting the glossy fur tickle her face. "But Kendra, do not let the plights of your other kindred dampen your light. As I am sure Bracken has told you many, many times with his peculiar old-timey voice, you have a wonderful brilliance and a moral goodness to you, Kendra Sorenson. Do not let anyone stop you, child. Just remember that you're strong, and you'll go even further than I someday." Her head jerks in Kendra's embrace. "Which reminds me. I want to show you something before your brother arrives."

Kendra frowns, pulling back. "What?"

Cadeliah ignores her and pads over to a new rack on the wall, holding two gleaming bronze sword hilts. Cadeliah rears up on her hind legs and takes them in her mouth one at a time. Dropping back onto all four legs, Cadeliah trots back over to Kendra and sets them on the table.

"Remember these?" she rumbles, glancing up at Kendra with her two-colored eyes. "My swords, from back in the days when I could assume a human avatar. One gold and the other blue, like my eyes, hand-crafted by myself and specially tempered, woven with magic that not even I know all the specifics of, even greater than Seth's 'Sword of Light and Darkness.'" Cadeliah snorts. "I guess it's my fault that society these days is so dense. I doubt you could even open a letter with that thing. No, these are the true beauties." Cadeliah licks one of the handles almost lovingly.

"Cool," laughs Kendra. She looks at the metal doubtfully, remembering the narrow blades. "But… these are just hilts."

"Pick them up," orders Cadeliah, looking down at Kendra and cocking her head with narrowed eyes. Kendra eyes the hilt that Cadeliah had licked with disgust, but clasps her hands around both of the handles. The handhold melts to the shape of her grip, becoming more comfortable by the second. The swords hum in her hands, and a shock of energy travels through her bones, not that much unlike Vasilis. But, much different than her brother's sword, Kendra doesn't sense any rage or anger radiating from Cadeliah's weapons, just a steady flow of confidence and reassurance. They also don't really seem to be taking her over, just standing at attention like Kendra's little army.

"Wow!" exclaims Kendra, looking at the sword in her left hand, the golden one. "These are neat!"

Cadeliah smiles slyly. "You haven't even seen the half of it. Flick your wrists, like your flipping a yo-yo." Kendra eyes the wolf skeptically. "Go on, Kendra, do it!" Cadeliah urges, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Uncertainly, Kendra gives the hilts a solid flick. With a sound like sheets of metal brushing against one another, the hilts extends magically like one of those lightsaber toys, instantly locking into position and becoming two familiar narrow swords. Kendra recognizes slight curve in the matte bronze metal. She gasps, marveling at the new swords that had sprung from the small hilts, running a finger down the blade and slicing open her skin. Her blood stains the flawlessly sharp edge of the blue-streaked sword like an inkblot. Kendra sets down the sword and shakes her hand, sucking on her index finger.

"That's amazing," she murmurs around her finger, still admiring the swords.

Cadeliah smiles. "Flick it again."

Kendra's finger makes a plopping noise as she pulls it from her mouth. She grabs the swords and jerks them, excited to see what will happen. The blades instantaneously shorten and broaden, shrinking until they're only about a foot long. Kendra holds up a pair of gleaming daggers in reverence.

"Okay, that's extremely awesome," admits Kendra.

Cadeliah's eyes sparkle. "I am rather ingenious, aren't I? They can turn into any weapon known to man, and any combination if you have enough humiliation to ask them. Just speak the words of power, _end_ in Wolfen, and they shrink into carry-on bag sized hilts again."

"You are rather ingenious," agrees Kendra, still eyeing the glinting daggers almost jealously. They aren't completely flat; the edges slant into a razor sharp tip on either side, like dual fangs. These are exactly the kind of weapons that she'd like. If only she could be as smart as Cadeliah and make herself a pair! "These are absolutely amazing."

Cadeliah looks conflicted for a moment, and then squares her shoulders, holding her head high. "You know what? Keep them."

Kendra gawks at the Soul Bearer. "You're pulling my leg."

Cadeliah's eyes twinkle merrily. "What good are they doing here?" she asks rhetorically. "All my precious creations do day in and day out is sit on a wall like valueless trophies, collecting dust, when they should be out slaying monsters and putting silly swords like Vasilis to shame! Your brother does need to learn some humility, don't you think?"

Kendra laughs. "Well, yeah," she confesses bashfully. "Recently, I have kind of wanted to snap his pride in half. All he does these days is brag about his sword. It's getting annoying. But… Cadeliah, these are yours. I don't even know how to use them properly. I can't speak Wolfen, and I don't know how to close them."

"_End_ in Wolfen is –" Cadeliah sings two raspy notes. "You try."

Feeling immensely awkward, Kendra sings the melody in the same high pitch as Cadeliah, but the brown wolf shakes her head. "In your language, your tone matters not. In Wolfen, your tone is key. It must sound high and reedy to be _end_ and not _fish_. If you were trying to say fish, then pat yourself on the back. Keep practicing, though! It was an amazing first try!"

Kendra blushes and concentrates as Cadeliah repeats the two notes. Closing her eyes, Kendra sings the two notes as hoarsely as she can. Opening them once more, a thrill passes through Kendra to see the metal rapidly folding up on itself, and the daggers become just hilts once more.

"I did it!" she cries childishly, grinning from ear to ear. "I did it, Cadeliah!"

Seth pokes his head through the doorway curiously. "Did what?"

Cadeliah's eyes flash with something similar to sadness. "Nothing, Seth," she chuckles. "Kendra, have fun with your new swords. Your brother has to talk to me for a bit. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" The she wolf turns on heel abruptly. Kendra frowns at Cadeliah, the Soul Bearer's dismissal leaving her mind reeling.

Frown deepening, Kendra wonders why Seth's wearing his backpack as they disappear into the darkness of the cavern's tunnels.

* * *

"The sixth day," whispers Cadeliah sadly, facing away from Seth. "I do not know how this day will end. It could go either way, balancing on the blade of a knife, tipping in either direction. And I do not know which way it will fall." He frowns. The old wolf has led him to a chamber filled with sparkling diamonds and gems, like a humongous geode. Light leaks in from a crack in the ceiling, illuminating her brown hairs. Seth steps forward, swallowing his nervousness, and pulling out the Soul Stone.

The Stone is more active than Seth's ever seen it, glowing with a violet glare, tendrils of colored fog whipping around it, and babbling unintelligibly into his mind. Even though Seth's sure she knows about it, Cadeliah doesn't turn around.

"Cadeliah," he apologizes candidly, "I made a mistake. I didn't know I had your soul. I didn't even know what it was. All I knew is that it helped out with my lessons with Chaos. Just yesterday I realized that I was hogging it like all the humans before me. I was up all night, Warren can tell ya, tossing and turning and thinking about it. I realized that if I keep it any longer, I won't be able to give it up."

Cadeliah starts turning around, but jerks back into position. "Seth," she whispers huskily, "I cannot look at my soul. After all of these years, I simply cannot look at it. It's not my own will, just primal instincts. If I look at my soul, I will tear apart whoever is in possession of it and rip the Soul Stone from their dead arms, no matter my intentions. For your own sake, do not show me that gem unless you are giving it to me.

"But I am!" yelps Seth. Cadeliah goes rigid, fur standing on end, as if lightning had struck her.

"You… are?" she breathes in disbelief, head turning slightly.

Seth laughs. "What else would you get from that whole speech? Yes I am! I can't handle this thing anymore, and what better person to hand it off to but its natural owner? So, how do we do this?"

Cadeliah hesitates. "I… I believe I can gaze upon it if your intentions are to return it to me. I will turn back around if I feel the slightest of rages." Gradually, she turns around with closed eyes, facing Seth with her big head way above him. Seth holds his breath, praying that Cadeliah won't freak out. He's astonished to see tears flowing, trickling down her face from both eyes. After a moment of hesitation, Cadeliah opens her eyes and gazes upon her stone.

A surge of longing cuts through Seth, originating from the purple Soul Stone. The blue mist slowly twisting in the center of the jewel becomes a hurricane, spiraling at record speeds. Cadeliah's eyes glow slightly with a wistful emotion, but she doesn't leap violently for the Soul Stone and try to rip out his eyes, so that's good.

"How do we do this?" Seth repeats, playing with the stone anxiously in his hands. Will the wolves be mad at him for keeping their soul?

Eyes still fixed on the gem, Cadeliah utters, "You say, 'Cadeliah the Soul Bearer, I, Seth Sorenson the Shadow Charmer, gift you with the Soul Stone, and return your life essence to the wolves'. Then you move forward and you gently set it at my feet. I do the rest. Do not fret; you will be beloved among wolves, not despised, dear Seth Sorenson."

Seth clears his throat, glancing nervously at Cadeliah. A rush of confidence and warmth comes from the Soul, comforting Seth and coaxing him to continue.

"Cadeliah the Soul Bearer," announces Seth, feeling stupid until the winds whir to life, racing around the gemstone cavern like in one of those movies, ruffling Cadeliah's fur and tossing his hair around, "I, Seth Sorenson the Shadow Charmer, gift you with the Soul Stone" – Seth holds up the gem to the light more extra dramatic flair – "and return your life essence to the wolves!" Seth kneels and places it at Cadeliah's massive feet, then steps back, head still bowed respectfully.

"I, Cadeliah the Soul Bearer," proclaims the she wolf, eyes burning with power, "accept your gift of the Soul Stone, and reclaim the essence of the wolves!"

That's when things get wild.

Two slender ropes twist and churn through the gales, one twining around Cadeliah's throat like a necklace, tying underneath her chin. The other wraps around the Soul Stone, binding itself like a pendant on a necklace. Once tied, the Soul Stone hovers in the air, wind lashing at Seth's face. Cadeliah rears slightly on her hind legs, holding both of her legs out to the side as the Soul Stone grows nearer and nearer to her neck. A flash blinds Seth as the Soul Stone connects to the rope at the top of her throat, touching its master's flesh after centuries of being passed from man to man, violated and exploited, _finally_ meeting its Bearer at long last.

Seth holds up his hand to block the light and stumbles backwards as the very ground shakes as Cadeliah lets loose an earsplitting howl.

* * *

Warren chuckles at Thunder-Bolt. The wolf guffaws beside him gruffly. Sand-Heart rolls her eyes.

"You two are so immature!" she snaps, shaking her head. Flash-Foot giggles underneath her.

"Mum, you're so –"

Flash-Foot breaks off with a gasp. Warren frowns as the wolves all go stiff, heads perking, eyes broadening, hairs going on end, and mouths clamped, snarls curling at their lips. Their eyes begin to glow, and they begin to snarl viciously. The glow grows and greatens until it blanks out Warren's vision. And then the wolves begin to change.

* * *

Bracken stagger backwards as Thunder-Soul snarls, bowing his head, grey light cast from his eyes increasing in brightness by the second. The wolf makes throaty sounds, placing his head down and panting raggedly. With a sound like tearing flesh, he grows, muscles bulging and teeth elongating. Thunder-Soul snarls, but not violently; the wolf sounds as though he's relishing the sound, like he's spent thousands of years apart from it, and now can truly hear it once again. Open-mouthed, Bracken backs into another wolf behind him, its eyes also glowing and flesh swelling. With a sound like the creaking of bones, they shoot up, becoming long and lean and mean.

"What is this?" whispers Bracken in horrified awe. "What is this?"

* * *

Tanu gawps at the litter of pups morphing in front of his eyes, the high-pitched snarls deepening and the flimsy childlike bodies hardening into miniature steel. He cautiously lays a hand on one of their pelts, but yanks it back, sensing the turmoil of potentially dangerous magic brewing underneath the surface of these young pups.

"Berry-Fur," he calls in distress. "Berry-Fur, there's something wrong with the –"

Tanu breaks off, seeing the reddish coat of the kind-hearted healer also distorting and growing, and the raspy snarls she makes. He backs away slowly, mind swimming with confusion.

* * *

Kendra's almost to tears by the time the winds stop whirling around the small cavern, staring in horror at the white form batting its growing wings mightily. His light is nearly blinding, forcing Kendra to wince against the bright incandescence. Is this how Bracken feels all the time?

He snarls once more, and then lifts his muzzle to the sky, releasing a note of purity, with thousands of chords in his glorious new voice. The winds halt immediately, allowing Kendra to hear the howls of hundreds of other wolves howling in perfect accordance to Brach, all of their voices like his, beautiful and unique and melodic.

Kendra slowly allows herself to stare at the fading radiance of Brach as he sings an ethereal song that's always hovering on the edge of mourning, despite the tone of lionizing in his voice. The ground shakes with all of the rejoicing songs, all bound together to create the ultimate melody of worship.

The song drifts to a mysterious end, and Brach drops his muzzle and stares at Kendra from up high. He cocks his head and smirks. "Hey, Kendra. How's the weather down there?"

* * *

Mara stumbles away from the newly massive wolf, admiring its lithe build with awed horror. Snow-Angel bares her new daggerlike teeth, opening and closing her mouth experimentally, showing off the ivory fangs and the bright pink of her gums. With a toothy pleased smile, Snow-Angel shakes out her blue-tinted white coat, studying the new fall of her lush fur with an approving sparkle in her familiar and yet so different icy blue eyes. She towers over Mara, looming overhead like a white shadow. Despite her best intentions, Mara quakes at the sight of the nearly fifteen foot long wolf, the one that used to only come up to her shoulder, and backs away in terror.

Snow-Angel seems to notice Mara's fear, and her proud smile falters. She lowers her head to Mara's level, blue eyes with remorseful concern. "Don't be afraid," she practically sings in a high voice that Mara recognizes, but also totally alien, as if she now has two other exact versions of her singing the same statement on slightly different notes. "It's still me. Me, except how I was meant to be. A Great Wolf, not a wolf."

Mara wants to believe that this is the wolf she'd grown to like, but a primitive instinct convinces her of otherwise, and that's before the chant begins.

* * *

Seth stares in disbelief at Cadeliah. Somehow, the huge wolf had gotten even larger. She now looks a little bit less twenty feet from nose to tail, her dignified ears brushing the high ceiling. At the base of her throat, the Soul Stone still radiates power, sending pulses of purplish magic through the air. It's strapped just beneath her chin, so when Cadeliah stops lifting her head and holds it normal to look down at Seth, her fur covers most of the purple surface.

The wolf's eyes are debatably the things that had changed the most. Well, not her actual eyes. Those are still gold and blue. But the area around her eyes are stenciled with colored swirls that glow slightly like her mismatched irises. They curl from the corners of her eyes down to the tips of her broad cheeks in elegant whirls and twists, the color of each matching the eye of their origination. Cadeliah's fur had also changed a bit. Where the strongest light hits her formerly plain old brown fur, it shimmers coppery gold, like she'd taken a roll in metallic dust. Most of her fur is the same old chocolaty brown, if somewhat fuller. The only place where the real difference can be seen is while she's standing in the strong sunlight.

Throwing her head back, Cadeliah roars at the top of her melodious lungs, "ALL HAIL SETH SORENSON, CHILD OF THE WOLF!"

The volume of her cry makes the room tremor. Following her call, there's a split second of silence, before the wolves begin to chant at as loud as he's ever heard them be. Seth's eyes widen as his name echoes around the tunnels, shaking the earth, sending spirals of dust trailing down from the ceiling. In perfect unison, they all cry out his name, rejoicing in his greatness, calling Seth their savoir. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't get the slightest bit teary.

Even though the wolves still shake the room, Cadeliah's magical moment is over. Her eyes and eye-swirls are back to normal, an almost indiscernible shimmer all the remains of the mystical twirling lines. "Oh, Seth," she sighs tenderly, looking down at him with unequaled love and care so genuine it makes Seth feel like he's being torched with warm emotions. "Every wolf in the world, spread out over all eight continents, calling out your name at the same time, worshipping you, the Child of the Wolf that was better than any human before him. Congratulations, dear Seth. You are a hero."

Seth grins, but something nags at him, and it fades. "There are only seven continents, right?"

Cadeliah throws her head back and laughs, as if Seth's just made a funny joke.

* * *

**Okay-dokey, that's done! What is Seth thinking, returning the soul and strengthening the wolves he's supposed to be killing? Anyway, here's this one's poll: **

**Who do you like better: Cadeliah or Swift-Song? Dun dun dun!**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	23. Chapter 22

**Probably going to write something here. I do not own Fablehaven, however I do own this story and these made-up characters. Send me a PM! I'd love to hear what you think of my story!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Cadeliah emerges from the dark hole, catching Kendra's attention. In the sky, two dragons dance like ribbons in the wind. A deep and high song rolls over the land, uttered not only from the twirling dragon but from the throats of every dragon on earth. Before this, there'd been a hymn in the joy of the returned wolves by what Fiona and Brach had called the Holy Ones. Warren had explained later that it was shamans, whatever those are.

Kendra gawks at the massive wolf and her faintly bronze tinted chocolate fur, and the glowing purple stone strapped securely underneath her chin. "The gift of the dragons," she sighs, gazing up into the sky with bittersweet eyes. "They have such beautiful voice, do they not?"

"Are the unicorns preparing a gift?" wonders Bracken aloud, looking at Cadeliah with questioning eyes.

Cadeliah meets his gaze levelly. "You know better than I, Fairy Prince."

* * *

Kendra laughs as she is passed from back to back of the wolves, slowly rolled over the crowds like rock stars in cheesy movies. They're infinitely gentle and mindful of her small size as they hoist her around, cheering and singing and dancing.

The sound of music fills the clearing. Rocky crags tower around the large plain the wolves apparently use for celebration, carved with tons of statues of wolves and dragons and humans even a unicorn dancing and twirling. All of the wolves from the Peak Clan and the River Clan had come to the party, making the normally ginormous field seem small in comparison to all of their big, furry bodies. In the middle of the circular shaped clearing, a tall spire coils up in the air, one Kendra would never dare attempt to scale, topped with a small flat ledge like a stage, large enough for only one wolf at a time. At the moment, a saucy black wolf with white markings over one half of its face sings Kelly Clarkson songs. Brach unsteadily whizzes through the air, leaving a colorful trail of rainbow confetti everywhere he passes and reflecting the blinking strobe lights with a helmet made out of a broken disco ball. All three of the astrids, Cassandra, Alec, and Zia, also twist acrobatically through the air.

On an elevated platform against one of the sides, Cadeliah sits with a beautiful smile on her face, arching her neck and talking graciously to all of the awed wolves that crowd around her. At her side and wearing an amethyst tiara is Fiona, and around her meet mull Jhama and Yetta with little violet tiaras of their own. Thunder-Soul, who's actually the same size as Cadeliah now, sits on another platform opposite of her with the Council peering critically over his shoulders. There isn't as much attention over there as at Cadeliah's, but he's attracted a crowd of his own.

Chaos is making balloon animals in the corner, smiling with more warmth at each pup than Kendra thought the bitter old wolf had in him, and twisting so many balloons that it makes her head hurt. He's on the other end of the clearing, so all Kendra can really glimpse is a bunch of balloons.

"Heyyyy Kendrrraaaaa!" shouts Brach as he races past her, his pink and orange wings just a blur of color. Kendra raises a hand and waves as she gets passed to another wolf's shoulders. Brach banks somewhat clumsily and comes back around for a second swoop.

"Mummmm wanntsss toooo" – another bank, and another sweep – "talllkk toooo all offff" – another bank, another sweep – "yoouuuu guyyys!"

"Wouldn't it have been just easier to hover?" Kendra calls after his rapidly retreating form. She taps the shoulder of the wolf holding her at the moment softly, and he looks up at her with a familiar teasing smile.

"Yes, your highness?" questions the golden wolf from her dream, lilac eyes flashing with amusement. His tone is even silkier than it had been there, porbably accounting to the restored musical voices of all wolves, with a playful undercurrent that reminds her of Fiona a bit.

Kendra gasps. "You! Boro!"

"Me," he agrees with a musical chuckle. "Now, as I understand it, you need to get to Cadeliah, is that so?"

Kendra nods numbly.

His smile grows. "Well, then, let's hop to it! Hold on, little fairy!" Boro leaps over the crowd, literally launching himself off of the withers of fellow wolves, jumping from strong wolf to strong wolf, making his way across the dense crowd in mere seconds. Kendra clutches herself to the hard muscles underneath his glossy golden coat, struggling to hold on. She waves perilously at Warren as Boro jumps over his wolf. Boro lands on the platform with a skid, sliding a few feet and stirring up the dust. He shakes out his golden coat as Kendra slides off, letting it fall majestically once more.

Fiona springs to her feet immediately, a very un-Fiona emotion shining in her eyes. "Boro!" she exclaims joyfully. "You made it!" Then, realizing that her mother had raised an eyebrow, Fiona corrects, "Ah, I mean, Prince Boro of the Wolves" – Fiona sinks into a low bow – "you arrived at our humble celebration earlier than you had RSVPed! We are truly delighted to have your presence here!"

Boro cocks a mischievous eyebrow. "You sound like my mum. Please don't ever talk like that again, Fiona."

Fiona rises, laughing with less stress than Kendra had ever heard. "I can guarantee that one more ya, Boro. It gave my mind seizures."

Kendra stands back and looks at the pair of them, eyes flicking from Fiona to Boro and them back to Fiona, judging their postures and emotions and expressions as the wolves regarded each other warmly. With a jolt, she realizes that Fiona has a crush on this wolf, who's turning out to be the prince of the wolves.

"Don't blame me," gripes Cadeliah, shooting an annoyed glance at the platform opposite her. "If those Council wolves ever find out that my daughter didn't address the Prince correctly, I would be dead meat."

Boro laughs. "I highly doubt a council would have the power to make you do anything, Cadeliah."

Cadeliah snorts and rolls her eyes. "That's what you'd think, isn't it? Oh, no, they'd get me back by chewing me out about it every time I even glanced in their direction! I really would love to help them, it's just they are so nit-picky!"

"Wait," interrupts Kendra, turning to Boro. "You're the Wolf Prince? And Fiona's the Soul… Princess?"

Fiona snorts. Boro shoots her a silencing glance. "Yes, I'm the Wolf Prince, but Fiona isn't a Soul Princess," he explains patiently, cocking his head and smiling at Kendra with those purple eyes. "Fiona is a Soul Wolf, a guardian of the Soul Stone, but not its official protector. Does that make any sense?"

Fiona growls. "Screw you, Boro! New civilization, new rules! I'm a freaking Soul Princess!" Boror opens his mouth to protest, but Fiona cuts him off. "Your argument is invalid."

Boro shakes his head in exasperation, looking at Kendra in exhaustion. "You see what I have to deal with?"

"I'm a Soul Princess, too!" craws Jhama, waving her paws around in the air.

"Me too!" calls Yetta, copying her sister.

Boro smiles tenderly, and sinks into a bow. "It's wonderful to finally meet you two. Your wish is my command," he purrs gently. Fiona grins at Kendra behind his back, right before Seth flops on the stadium ungracefully like a half-dead fish.

Seth regains himself, shaking his head and rising with a foolish grin smothered across his impish face, brown eyes darting around to everything and everyone. Boro rises from his bow, turns to meet her brother, and tips his head kindly. "I am forever in your debt, young Shadow Charmer."

Seth studies Boro critically. "You have purple eyes."

Boro chuckles, cocking his head. "It's a royal family thing. The purple eye allele is dominant to everything except blue eyes, and it's been passed through the generations for centuries. We're the last family to have the gene in the family trees."

"My mentor has purple eyes," mutters Seth, frowning to himself and staring off into space.

"Your… mentor?" questions Boro, one ear flattening in his confusion.

"Chaos."

Boro throws his head back with a rumbling chuckle. "Ah, yes, my bitter uncle! He was supposed to inherit the throne, you know, instead of my father, but the odd wolf renounced the title and went to go study magic instead. Of course, in the end of the day, he's alive while my pa lies dead, so I guess his choice was worthwhile."

Kendra gawks at Boro. "Chaos is your uncle?"

Boro nods indifferently. "He's odd, but he's never shown me any unkindness or contempt because of my father's ultimate shame, but, on the flip side, he's never shown me any real affection, either. I guess I remind him too much of his daughter. Apparently, she had eyes and fur like mine."

Kendra frowns, wanting to ask more, but then Brach descends with Vanessa and Bracken on his back, whining for assistance. The unicorn and the blix are at each other's throats, snarling insults and holding knives threateningly. Fiona's ears go slack.

"Whose great idea was it to have a blix and a unicorn on the same wolf?" she snaps as she grabs Bracken by the cuff of his white shirt and yanks him unconcernedly off of her brother. Boro does the same with Vanessa, although he's gentle and careful with her.

Bracken sneers at Vanessa somewhat childishly as he strolls over to Kendra's side. She sticks her tongue out at the unicorn. Cadeliah sighs heavily, and Warren flops onto the stage _almost_ as gracefully as Seth had.

"Did I miss anything?" he pants, rising to his feet unsteadily. Vanessa prances forward and links her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on the end of his nose. Behind her, Boro and Fiona make faces in unison.

"Nope," she sighs, resting her head on his chest. Warren's puzzled, but he doesn't really complain. Boro makes a retching sound.

"Yewk," he coughs uncomfortably. "Don't you humans, or, ah, blixes, have any rules about Public Displays of Affection? Or, as I call them, PDAs?"

"The day a blix learns some manners is the day I eat a shoe," harrumphs Bracken, earning him a forceful elbow-in-the-gut from Kendra.

"Be nice," she hisses disapprovingly. Bracken rolls his eyes incredulously, but shuts up.

"Okay," sums up Boro, cocking his head and creasing his wolf eyebrows. "I guess you're Bracken, the Fairy Prince?" Bracken's attention focuses on the golden wolf, and he nods. "Well, then, nice to meet you, Bracken; I'm Boro the Wolf Prince thingy. I understand you had a part in returning the Soul Stone, so I formally thank you for that jazz, and informally say that your girlfriend is very good-looking by human standards." Boro shoots Kendra a wink, making her cheeks warm.

Bracken shoots Kendra an amused glance. "I suppose I didn't make the best first impression," he laughs in embarrassment. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Boro. I formally thank you for this wonderful party, and I informally warn you to keep those paws off of my girlfriend." Bracken's voice is upbeat and playful, and everyone laughs, but Kendra shoots him a sharp glance anyway.

Mara tumbles onto the stage, directly followed by Tanu being lowered to the ground by a panting Brach. The white wolf droops his head, his shoulders heaving. Kendra steps forward and lays a consoling hand on his withers, rubbing the sweat-soaked fur rhythmically. Bracken's at her side, but that's to be expected.

Zia alights soundlessly next to Cadeliah, dressed in a black leather jacket, jeans, a hot pink T-Shirt, and grimy sneakers. "No wolves allowed," she decrees, yellow eyes flashing. "Sorry, guys, but this is Fablehaven Questers only business."

Cadeliah nods. "Besides," she adds comfortingly, nudging her crestfallen daughters gently, "Boro should introduce himself to the crowd" – Boro makes an agonized face – "and Jhama and Yetta can get rides on their brother, while Fiona can… do whatever Fiona does in her spare time, lord knows…" The brown wolf shakes her head, but Fiona grins at her with all of her teeth.

"Wait," protests Kendra, still stroking Brach. "What are we doing, Cadeliah?"

Cadeliah rises with poise, pricking her ears and holding her head high. "We are going to go discuss the matter of Seth's quest."

* * *

"Don't touch that!" yelps Cadeliah, scampering up and batting Seth's hand away from a giant pearl about the size of a grapefruit. Her gold and blue eyes spark with fear for him. Seth retracts, eyeing the pearl dubiously.

"Why? What is it?" he asks, but Cadeliah is already off, smacking Warren away from a golden goblet.

"For God's sake, don't touch anything!" she yips. "Bracken, that includes you." Bracken bashfully pulls away from what looks like a golden unicorn horn, but doesn't stop studying the swirling artifact from outside its glass case.

Cadeliah had lead them through a series of back-routes, through caves and caverns and canyons and a bunch of other things, ending up here, in this opal ovular room. There's a podium off to one side that looks specially fitted for wolves, plus a bunch of benches scattered everywhere, not fitted for wolves. Soft rugs are littered throughout the room, probably creating seating for wolves. They even have a perch made from a gnarled branch for birds. Dark cherry wood display cases line the shimmering walls, filled with all sorts of neat doo-hickeys and thingamabobs. There's a golden plate in front of each object, but it's in that Wolfen stuff, and Seth can't understand a word of it.

"This looks like a unicorn horn," declares Bracken, twisting to get a better angle of the golden swirl on display. Seth drifts closer, admiring the gilded curl of the horn, and the way the gleaming surface seems to be woven with crimson streaks.

"That's because it is," sighs Cadeliah in exasperation, nudging Kendra away from a dragon-egg.

Bracken frowns. "No, it isn't. I've never heard of a golden unicorn."

Cadeliah snorts. "It's from a twelve-horned unicorn, Bracken. Please don't question… Sit down, everybody, we have to begin."

Eyes bursting with questions, Bracken wanders over to find a seat between Kendra and Warren. Seth trips on an oriental rug, but settles on the other side of his sister. She grins at both of them, with a mischievous look in her green eyes that causes Seth to shiver.

Zia joins Cadeliah by the podium once everyone had found a seat. With a start, Seth notices that Alec and that other pure white owl had touched down on the podium. Clearing her throat she steps up to the stand, Zia clears her throat and announces, "First order of business: Cassandra has a crush on Seth."

"What?" squeaks Seth.

"Really?" questions Kendra, leaning forward, eyes sparkling.

"I do?" asks the white owl, looking at Zia in confusion. She cocks her gold-ringed head and narrows her pitch black eyes. "I have a crush on Seth Sorenson?"

Zia face-palmed. "No, you don't, but you two are totally OTP and you should have a crush on Seth Sorenson. I am not going to let this drop, missy!" The white owl, apparently Cassandra, sighs loudly and gracefully swoops from the room, gliding effortlessly through the air, wind from her flight tousling Seth's hair.

"Darn it," sighs Kendra in disappointment. "Zia, after this, you and I will have to meet and arrange this relationship."

"An assembly of the sisters," chuckles Alec.

Cadeliah laughs, but shakes her head and redirects the conversation. "Seth Sorenson," she asserts, "as I understand it, your duty from the Singing Sisters is to bring them the hides of seven Great Wolves for them to keep as trophies in their massive trophy hall. Is that correct?"

Seth's eyes widen. He turns to Zia. "You told her?"

Zia cocks an eyebrow. "She's our best hope for getting this figured out, Seth. We need her."

"It's logically adequate to include her," argues Bracken, "but morally so? I do not believe we should ask of her to commit treason from her species to assist us."

Zia rolls her eyes. "You're all stupid. Cadeliah already figured it out before any of you dolts. I didn't tell her. She figured it out with all of that crazy thinking she does. Now, are you going to listen to her or not?"

"I, for one, want to hear what she proposes," decides Mara. "It will be interesting to see the situation viewed from another's eyes."

"Are we finished arguing?" inquires Cadeliah in amusement. "Yes? Alright." The she wolf rises and begins pacing back in forth at a hurried pace. "Here is your predicament: Seth has the favor of the wolves, making it incredibly easy to go behind our backs and commit something traitorous such as this. However, as soon as Seth goes through with this act, he loses all favor, and becomes an outcast instead, meaning that every time a wolf sees him again, it's their right to remove his head from his body. Not to mention Chaos will hunt all of you into extinction. However, if you don't kill seven wolves, the Singing Sisters' knife will come along and slit Seth's throat. I'm pretty sure nobody wants that." Zia grunts indifferently. "Oh, nobody cares what you think, Zia. But" – Cadeliah halts her pacing, eyes sweeping the crowd majestically – "last time I checked, the Singing Sisters said nothing about killing anyone."

Warren blinks in surprise. "She's right."

Cadeliah begins pacing once more. "There's a clan, a stronghold up in the northern part of Canada, that doesn't bury their dead with their pelts on their bodies. However disgusting it may sound, they skin their relatives and hang their pelts in their dens to remember them by. We can ask for a collection to be taken up for any unwanted hides, and boom! Seth's quest is complete!"

"Genius," whispers Tanu in awe. "You're a complete and utter genius, Cadeliah."

Emotions well up inside of Seth. He's been kind of distant with the wolves ever since the bomb had been dropped about his task out of guilt. Now, Cadeliah's here, telling him that he doesn't need to worry any longer, with a perfect plan that doesn't involve him lifting his sword. As if she's still able to sense what he's thinking, Cadeliah smiles at him warmly, blue and gold eyes shimmering with warmth. They flash with color, and the swirling lines along her cheek illuminate for a split second, but nobody else acts like they can see it.

Before he can stop himself, Seth bolts to his feet and throws his arms around the huge furry neck of Cadeliah. "Thank you," he whispers into her tickling fur. "Thank you so much."

* * *

Cadeliah watches the questers trickle out of her room, led by Zia and Alec. She masks her bitterness with a sweet smile, watching them go with tender eyes hiding anger and unrest. She should be joyful to finally have her soul back, but the purple gem is more like a twist of cruel fate, that she should feel who she once was days before her final demise. With a rasping sigh, Cadeliah calls, "You can come out now."

Sheepishly, Boro and Fiona slink from the shadows, eyes downcast. "How long did you know we were there?" asks Boro in embarrassment.

Cadeliah chuckles, a spark of her old warmth alighting. "Quite a while. Gold fur doesn't really blend into shadows all the well, Boro."

He hangs his head, and Fiona nudges him with a teasing smile on her face, one that quickly fades. "So that's what they're doing here. I knew Seth had a job to do, but that… I wasn't expecting it, to say the least."

Cadeliah sighs, the power of her Soul Stone pulsing through her veins. "Don't fret," she consoles, staring down at the young wolves' uncertain eyes as comfortingly as possible, "everything is being worked out as we speak."

Boro frowns in concern, cocking his royal head, so much resembling his wicked father's. "But… Cadeliah, there is no Canada pack."

Cadeliah squeezes her eyes shut, stifling tears.

"I know."

* * *

**And now we've come across yet another cliffhanger, after all of my hard work… eh, YOLO. I'm updating from a WiFi McDonalds, so, again, it may be a while. Please, if you haven't already, go back and answer the polls the last few chapters you might have skipped. Those of you that didn't skip, congrats! You're awesome! **

**This poll is: is anyone noticing the connection Brackendra and Fioro (Fiona and Boro) yet? The prince and the subject, falling in love and stuff? **

**Alright! **

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	24. Chapter 23

**Hello, people! I'm back! **

**Gonna write something here. I will. Note to self: Do not leave this blank**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Kendra laces her fingers through his hand, making Bracken jump. He stares down at her, letting out a rattling breath. Her already present frown deepens.

"You doing okay, Unicorn?" she questions in concern. "You look uneasy."

Bracken is uneasy, very uneasy, but he doesn't dare say so. Instead, Bracken smiles at Kendra innocently, trying to wipe the depth of his troubled thoughts from his face.

"I'm fine," he claims, trying to send her reassurance through his first horn. "Just thinking, that's all."

Kendra raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Those must be some pretty intense thoughts." Bracken laughs, but the sound is fake and tinny even to his own ears. With a sigh, Bracken surrenders to Kendra's cheeky cocked eyebrows.

"It's just…," he murmurs, staring off into the distance, gazing beyond the rambunctious partygoers mulling about and chatting with each other. "I thought I was… I thought I knew the world. I thought that there wasn't much I knew little about, and very, very few things I knew nothing of. Now, there's so much about these wolves that's making me question my past, and my future. You, too, went and asked Cadeliah about the Fairy Wolves, right?"

Kendra's eyes widen and she nods.

"That's an entire chapter of unicorn history, just locked away and forgotten. That River-Song wolf must be shunned in today's world, forced to live off of old carcasses. And Tatiana, why have I never heard much of her or her minions before this? How were they able to subdue me so easily? And that Chaos wolf, Seth's mentor… every time I look at him, I become reminded of something, but I can't tell what. To you, maybe, a temporal being, these changes would have minimal effects. But to me… it's like someone's just yanked the world out from underneath my feet. I don't know what to expect anymore." Bracken sighs.

Kendra shakes her head. "Bracken, you can't just go around carrying all of this by yourself. You can always talk to me, and I'm pretty sure I can extend an offer from Cadeliah. Actually, that's a good idea. When Cadeliah gets back, why don't you go talk to her? Pretty sure she'd love to chat… She actually looks pretty bored with this entire party..."

Bracken grins at Kendra. "Of course. I've missed talking to you, too, you know."

Kendra waves a hand dismissively. "That's because you're a sappy lovey-dovey unicorn, Bracken." His grin widens.

Brach pads up, his handsome face twisted with a mischievous smile, two wings held out on either side of him. The gold tipping the sharp edges of the fairylike wings glints meanly in the starlight. His muscles bunch and relax with every proud stroke, like some sort of super wolf. The magic woven into his being makes Bracken narrow his eyes. Cadeliah had explained that Kendra had unknowingly tried to heal Brach with the kiss, and her body had responded in the only way it knew how: patching Brach up with Kendra's own DNA. She had said that most Fairy Wolves of the past could turn into humans with wings because of that DNA transfer, something Brach hadn't missed. Kendra goes white as a sheet every time she sees Brach as a fairy-man, so the wolf had quit showing off with it.

"Hey you two," he greets, his teenage voice mixing with his childish speech. No matter how much DNA had been transferred to the young wolf, he'd still be immature like this until he grows up mentally. "What did my mum tell you guys about?"

"Just stuff dealing with our quest," dismisses Kendra. "I think I would've fallen asleep, honestly."

Bracken smiles. "Pretty boring," he agrees. "Warren did fall asleep."

Brach rolls his eyes. "Okay, I get it, you're not going to tell me, but lying is not nice," he scolds, trotting off in the opposite direction and disappearing in the bustling crowd. "Catch you around, okay?"

At that moment, Cadeliah stalks elegantly from her cave, head held high and Soul Stone glowing. Bracken's eyes narrow at the sight of the stone. It gives off an odd fractured glare, mixing with Cadeliah's golden aura and casting strange geometric shapes around. When Bracken stands close enough to the stone, he can hear the whispering of thousands of voices, probably representing the thoughts of thousands of wolves. Her eyes instantly snap to Bracken, causing him to believe that she had "foreseen" this. She proudly walks up, her old hipbones barely protruding like they used to.

"Bracken, Kendra!" she calls, blue and gold eyes filled with warmth. "Why don't you go enjoy the celebrations? Sing a little, join a dancing circle or request a balloon animal! Who knows how long it'll last? This weather smells fishy to me…" Cadeliah takes a deep, thoughtful sniff, taking in the moisture in the air. "I didn't know it could thunder in Alaska, but, apparently, it can."

"Hey, Cadeliah," laughs Kendra, at visible ease with the wolf. Well, it's easy for her to socialize with the Soul Bearer, because she wasn't fooled by the Swift-Song disguise for longer than a day or two. "Bracken needs to talk, and I was wondering if you could help him out a bit."

Cadeliah's smile is so genuine it almost makes Bracken shudder as she looks warmly at him. "Of course. Maybe somewhere more private…?" The wolf's eyes slide to Jhama and Yetta, green eyes watching the conversation with interest. Bracken nods, and follows Cadeliah through the tunnel in the stone, waving briskly at Kendra before immersing himself in the darkness.

Under any other circumstance, Bracken would create a ball of light to illuminate their way, but unusual glowing crystals shine along the top of the ceiling, their luminescence plenty of light for the flat path. Curiously, Bracken runs a finger along the smooth cave walls, sensing the history hidden in the remotely brownish stone.

"How long did it take you to clear the labyrinth you wolves have here?" questions Bracken, impressed by the labor placed into carving out the tunnels. Cadeliah shoots him an amused glance.

"Wolves are artists," she explains. "We use our teeth to carve and to sculpt. Tunnels are nothing compared to those statues guarding the gates. We finished these in one or two months."

"That's very impressive," admits Bracken. His curiosity rages. "Do you mind if I take a look at your teeth? They must be very durable to endure rock."

Cadeliah grins. "Feel free." She lowers her head to Bracken's level. Her jaw swings open to its maximum length, allowing Bracken to peer into her mouth. For this, Bracken does create a ball of light, to show him all of her razor sharp teeth. Despite her old age and obvious constant use of her fangs, no flattening or damage shows on the ivory bones. They appear to be in top condition, still sliding up to pointed tips, still glinting healthily in the light. The designs of the teeth remind Bracken of a normal wolf's jaw, except for a few major differences. Her back teeth, the ones a wild wolf would use for slicing meat, are shaped differently, as if, instead of cutting up flesh, they're deployed to carve into stone, like an artist's tools. Her lean canines are also longer than a normal wolf's, making great weapons to snap into an enemy's neck.

"Remarkable," whispers Bracken. Cadeliah chuckles, pulling back and shutting her mouth.

"We are the perfect organisms for battle _and_ for peace," Cadeliah states, before padding deeper into the tunnel. "Careful which side you choose, Bracken."

* * *

All that's in the room are a few cushy elk pelts and a glowing pool of water in the center of the cavern. Bracken walks up beside Cadeliah, kneeling next to the pond. The water emits a glowing blue light from its depths, casting sinister shadows across the wolf's face.

"Pretty pond," remarks Bracken lamely.

Cadeliah's eyes glimmer in the shallow light as she turns to him, eyes filled with ancient knowledge. "You came out here to talk with me, Bracken. So, tell me, young unicorn, what is on your mind?"

Bracken takes in a deep breath, before rambling off on another great rant. "I feel like everything I've been taught, everything I know, is superficial and unreal. Walking amongst the wolves has opened my eyes in many, many ways, but at the same time, I am at lost. I don't understand anything that goes on, and it's driving me mad. I have so many questions…"

"So ask a few." Cadeliah's tone is generous and patient. She settles onto her stomach. "We have vaguely forty-five minutes until anything interesting happens. Let's get on with it."

Bracken swallows. "Tatiana and her minions. Why haven't I heard anything about them, and how were the astrids so powerful? Normal fallen astrids have nowhere near that amount of energy or strength or anything, in all honesty. And if she's so powerful and bent on getting revenge, why hasn't she started yet?"

"That's an excellent question," praises Cadeliah, eyes sparkling with ecstasy. "Why isn't Tatiana attacking when her forces are strong and the Fairy Queen is still recovering from Zzyxz? My guess is that she's waiting for something, or that her plans are already in motion, just coming on gradually. Warn your mother to keep your guard up." Bracken nods and sends the Fairy Queen a mental message. "Why haven't you heard of them? Well, no offense to Her Highness, but being stuck in a different realm does have a tendency to make news from reality a little sparse. She's been quite active in the last few years, but only if you have an eye for spotting her handiwork. Tatiana never comes out and does or says anything. She is even more secretive than the Sphinx. As for why the astrids were so effective…" Cadeliah looks into the blue water.

"If you're a furious and intelligent owl queen with only two subjects that are reduced in power, what would be the first thing you did once you regained sufficient energy? If you've ever watched any movie with a good plot line, then you know to restore and advance your minions instead of yourself. Stehang and Firsuian are no longer astrids, but animals that radiate darkness and a wicked power. They are creatures of which I have never seen before, genetic freaks, the leftovers from a botched experiment. Except they're powerful genetic freaks, well equipped with Vlacas armor and claw sheathes."

Bracken casts her an odd glance. "Vlacas what?"

Cadeliah nods to herself. With no warning, her head plunges into the lake, disappearing once it breaches the surface. In surprise, Bracken bolts to his feet, but Cadeliah returns at once with something gingerly clutched in her jaws and a new scratch along her dripping muzzle. Bracken lays a hand on her flank and it heals. He settles back beside Cadeliah, childishly gleeful to know what had just occurred.

"Hydroteleport, correct?" he smirks proudly. Cadeliah's face splits into a huge grin, and her tail thrashes.

"Good job, Bracken!" she praises around whatever's in her mouth. Cadeliah spits it out and nudges it towards Bracken. He lights it up with a ball of light, and gasps in recognition.

"The claw sheath of one of the astrids," he whispers in awe. "How could you possibly –"

"I can see the future, remember?" reminds Cadeliah. "This is Vlacas metal. Very, very rare, and very, very dangerous for any creature of light. It's basically a combination of adamant welded in the center of a volcano, crushed dragon bone, very precarious amounts of Braiser's acid, a pinch of centaur hoof dust, and a dash of pureed dragon tears. However you go about mixing the ingredients, the product is black metal that's deadly for any creature of light, like Kendra or yourself. The Vlacas metal sucks away at light and innocence. Your horn kept it in check and fought most of the effects, but if you had been caught unaware, just lying one of these claws sheathes against your skin would've killed you in just minutes. Very nasty stuff. Kendra got full blast, but she isn't completely a creature of light, just a hybrid of fairy and human, so she was spared as well. I expect Tatiana was rather bummed."

Bracken blinks, moving his hand away from the sheath. "Next question, I guess. At first, I suspected your Beginning tale was just normal cultural nonsense. But the more I learn about your way of lives and the way you think, the more I wonder if it was at least based on fact."

"Not a question," harrumphs Cadeliah, tipping the claw sheath back into the glowing pool, "but I'll answer it best I can. I have no proof that the superstitious mumbo-jumbo is true. On the flip side, I have no reason to believe that it isn't true, either. The legends say that we were made specially advanced and removed of self-preserving emotion by a greater being to protect the world from chaos. Ah, not the wolf. It may be true, for all I know. I scribed for a long time on our personal history, and yet all I could glean of that time is the common fairytales. Does it fit the picture? Yes, I daresay it does. We're advanced, and we put ourselves before others. But why are we that way? Mostly because it's been taught all of our lives, been preached so often that it's been woven into our DNA. I wouldn't be all that shocked if it turned out to be a clever lie from a superbly intelligent wolf that wanted to keep their brethren from going wicked. It's not much, but it's the best answer I have, too."

"Okay," considers Bracken. "Every time I hear Chaos's, as in the wolf, name uttered, I feel as though there's something I've forgotten. Why is that?"

Cadeliah smiles at Bracken. "Because you were taught about him, and even if they never used his name, your brain has been subconsciously making the connection. When they locked up Zzyxz the first time, they needed someone to remain inside the prison and lock it there, too; sealing it shut from the inside. Nobody wanted to go. Everybody had something or someone special to lose. Except for Chaos. Chaos leaped in through the portal, giving up all of his power to the wizards, and sealing Zzyxz shut for what everybody hoped to be all of eternity.

"I can only imagine his suffering throughout those long years within the demon prison, and I can't comprehend how every day he fended off the demons, warding off their spells every minute of every hour, even as he slept. Once he emerged, Chaos was… different, but that's to be expected. He offered to do it again, but Agad had prepared a different way to seal Zzyxz that closing it in that manner. That's why wolves bow to him as he passes. He had no one to lose going in Zzyxz, of course, so that made it easier. Chaos's family died: his mate, Firefly; his daughters, Clara and the original Swift-Song; and his only son, Seth." Cadeliah looks at Bracken with mournful eyes.

Bracken's filled with awe. "Truly, he is a great wolf. I guess that's why he's so grim around Seth Sorenson."

Cadeliah sighs. "The new Seth reminds Chaos greatly of his son. It's another reason, I guess, that he's so hard on Seth. Another is to try and wean the young boy from his recklessness. Chaos was once nearly identical to Seth now, and his family suffered as the price. He doesn't wish that upon anyone else. And who can blame him? Certainly not I."

Bracken's respect builds for the mysterious wolf in the cloak. "That's eye-opening. I had no idea I was walking side-by-side with the King of Shadows. My final inquiry is this: I brought up the Fairy Queen once while speaking with Thunder-Soul, and every wolf flattened their ears and treated it like a taboo. Why is that?"

Cadeliah's eyes grow wearier than Bracken had ever seen them, filled with immeasurable grief and sorrow beyond comprehension. She keens once, a mournful sound that echoes throughout the caverns. Bracken can sense the waves of sadness rolling off her mind, but can't figure out why.

"Your mother must be the one to tell you the specifics," Cadeliah grieves, "but both she and a foolish wolf made a mistake, and everyone paid the price. I do not blame her, but such is not the case among most wolves. Had the situation been reversed, I would've reacted in exactly the same way." Cadeliah dips her head. With a shock, Bracken sees crystal tears sliding down her chocolate face. "Tell her, Fairy Prince, that I do not blame her, and I never have. Tell her she is forgiven."

Bracken opens his mouth, but a rumble shakes the cavern. A trail of dust seeps from above, and he rocks unsteadily. Cadeliah rises to her feet, wiping away her tears and filling her eyes with fire.

"We must go," she growls. "Poor Kendra will be terrified in a minute and forty three seconds." She kneels, offering Bracken her back. Remaining as dignified as possible, Bracken scrambles to Cadeliah's back, heart pounding.

"I advise you keep low," growls Cadeliah. The wolf shoots off through the low-ceilinged caverns faster than Bracken deems safe considering the lack of light, racing through the tunnels like a bullet from a gun.

* * *

Kendra backs away in horror from the grey wolf, mouth agape and heart hammering. The wolf grins wickedly, her cobalt eyes glinting maliciously, the smirk showing all of her slender ivory fangs curling from her black lips. Her ebony claws coil from her paws, like thick needles. To top the fright, a delicate pair of blue and grey swallowtail butterfly wings sprouts from her back, fanning the air with relaxed flaps, sending the slightest whirl of wind into Kendra's face.

"River-Song," she breathes in horror, stumbling against Brach's fluffy chest. The white wolf doesn't seem to understand what's going on, but he growls and readies himself for a fight.

The wolf's smile abruptly fades. She sounds disappointed. "Uh oh, I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

Kendra frowns, taken aback. Bracken's threatening growl falters. "What?" Kendra stammers.

The grey wolf suddenly seems miserable, gossamer wings drooping and head descending, eyes downcast. Out of the corner of her eye, Kendra catches sight of Cadeliah emerging from the tunnel with a frazzled Bracken on her back. The grey wolf whines. "I'm being scary," she sighs. "I'm being creepy. No wonder those rumors are still flying." She shakes her head wearily.

Kendra hesitates. "You're River-Song, yes?" she questions cautiously, stepping out of Brach's fur. The white wolf's eyes flick from Kendra to the grey wolf and back, trying to gauge the situation.

"Yes," the wolf groans. "I'm River-Song, the killer wolf. The scary wolf. The wolf that'll get you if you don't eat your veggies. Please don't be afraid of me. I got so much bad rep for my behavior all those years ago. I've had counseling since then, I'll have you know. Partially just watching from Finding Nemo. Fish are friends, not food!"

Brach frowns. "Don't they end up trying to eat the fish anyway?"

"I'm not scared," protests Kendra, instantly feeling bad for the grey wolf. "Just surprised."

River-Song snorts. "I'm a lot of things, fairy girl, but I'm no idiot. I scared you out of your mind. Because that's who I am. I'm scary. I don't do the whole friendly thing very well, even when I'm on my best behavior. I'd like to see you do any better, if your only friend was a depressed old griffon for millennia on end!"

"Seriously, you're doing okay," argues Kendra as Cadeliah pads up. "You just startled me a little" – the wolf raises her eyebrows in disapproving incredulity, and Kendra hastily edits – "I mean, startled me a lot with that toothy grin. Isn't it natural for a fairykind to be a bit jumpy around you?"

Her eyes glint with surprise as Bracken slips off Cadeliah, staggering slightly. River-Song completely ignores the unicorn's protective glare, shunning Bracken completely. "You're fairykind? Sorry, I had no idea. I'm no good at that aura stuff. Would've approached you different and stuff if I'd known. Don't worry" – she grins again, showing all of her teeth – "I won't eat you."

"You should probably reassure Bracken, not me," laughs Kendra, warming to the coarse grey wolf almost against her will. She gestures towards the scowling unicorn. "He's going to take some warming up to…"

River-Song snorts, and turns her eyes to Bracken. She looks at him for a second, and then something clicks. "Oh, yeah! The Fairy Prince! I have a message for you and" – River-Song bows graciously to Cadeliah, dipping low and angling her face away – "the noble Soul Bearer from your most high mummy, Bracken. By the way, congrats, Cadeliah! Got your soul back, how exciting!"

Bracken frowns. "What was the message?"

River-Song cocks an eyebrow, rising from her bow. "You're pushy, aren't you? Well, the Fairy Queen is heading this way, in person, with a whole bunch of noble unicorns and fairies, to deliver their gift to the wolves, a big ol' party. I hope to either be invited to or party-crash. Whatever works is fine."

Brach's jaw drops as she stalks proudly away, wings splayed magnificently. "You're like me," he stammers.

"Glad you noticed that, pup," she laughs, fading into the crowd, not even looking back.

* * *

**Soooooo glad I got this one out here! I didn't have much time to comb through it and pick out spelling errors and stuff, so it might not be as professional as other chapters! On that note, if you see a spelling error, please write a review about it. I can't fix it if I don't know about it.**

**River-Song is here! What in heaven's name does that mean if there's a bunch of unicorns on their way? Can't be good...**

**This poll is: How many whovians do we have out there, recognizing the name River-Song? I wanted her to say "Hello, sweetie" but I think that's going a bit overboard. **

**Probably won't update for a bit. You guys have my regards and such. Best wishes!**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	25. Chapter 24

**Hello, people! I'm getting WiFi from sneaking behind an old person church, so, ya know, don't judge. **

**To anonymous Guest: yes, Kendra and Fiona are going to have a girl talk, but not in the way you imagined it. It's getting a little scary how you guys are figuring out my plot lines. For those that were wondering: River Song is the name of a very bad $$ character in a British TV show called Doctor Who. I highly advise it. **

**PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS:**

**The White House wants to pass a bill called "SOPA". It is an internet protection bill, but it will ruin in internet. Here's all the things it will take away:**

**No more songs in videos**

**No more covers of songs**

**No more fanart/fanfiction of ANY KIND**

**If you don't like this, please sign this petition at /petition/stop-sopa-2013/LMzMVrQF**

**EVERY VOTE COUNTS!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Kendra can't help jumping at the sight of Brach sliding with ease between wolves, his human shape tall and nimble and graceful and winged. He'd discovered he could change back and forth from a human avatar the first thirty minutes of having his soul back, but it still gives her the jitters.

Noticing her eyes following him, Brach waves, his face almost ridiculously pale and handsome, his light pink and orange eyes sparkling merrily. Kendra's already noticed a couple of she-wolves checking him out, whether while he's a wolf or not.

Before Kendra can say anything, he's gone, vanishing in the crowds of wolves like a white shadow. She sighs and leans against Fiona, the she wolf's strong muscles easily supporting her.

"Mum's going to wait until Snow-Angel finishes her repertoire before interrupting and stealing the singing stage," Fiona yawns out of boredom, "so get comfortable. We won't be going anywhere soon."

They sit together in friendly silence, watching as River-Song courses through the air in comets of sparkling blue, easily out-maneuvering a pinkish orange streak. They laughs together as Boro gets attacked by a pack of screaming she wolves, and collapse on the ground as Bracken hides timidly after witnessing the display. They comment of Snow-Angel's deep Adele-type voice, and the way that the wolves move in perfect coordination with the music. Finally, Fiona speaks.

"Sorry about being so rough with you guys," she sighs tiredly, looking at Kendra apologetically. "You know, when you first got here. It's just" – she looks into the distance wistfully – "Cadeliah is the best mother on the face of the planet. She's given me more love and attention than I ever deserve. Heck, she went sledding down Mount Olympus with me. But – if you haven't already noticed – she doesn't do tough all that well. She's the sweet one, and I'm the battle-hardened one, even though she's been through more than I ever will face. Every time, she makes the same mistake: trusting the wrong people. So, I was a little cautious. Very cautious. And now I see you're legit. So yay."

Kendra laughs. "It's okay," she soothes. "Nobody blamed you then, and nobody does now."

Fiona looks up at the moon. "All my life," she whispers, "I've never been anything more than a possibility, in everyone but my mum's eyes. Even Boro thinks of me as a maybe. I live long enough to inherit the Soul Stone after my mum deceases, which I hope doesn't happen for a very long time, or I die myself. They simply see someone who plays by the rules, someone replaceable, and someone just as flaky as their royal little hides." She growls in defiance, whereas Kendra flinches a bit at the thought of a wolf's hide. "They don't know who I am. They can't judge me. I doubt one of their perfect little ears has ever heard the scream of a gunshot or the wails of pups seeing their mother drop dead or the last roar of a fierce wolf protecting his family dropping to the ground or the sound of a chopper loaded with guns as it hums overhead or the sobs of the poor souls that did make it out alive and wish they hadn't. They think I'm blind and savage. But, tell me, Kendra, who is more savage: the one who fights and hates her friends' and families' murderers, or the one who sits idly by and lets it happen?"

Kendra doesn't answer her ferocious rant directly. "Huh. I wonder if I'll be feeling the same way meeting the Fairy Kingdom nobles."

Fiona throws up her head and roars deafening with laughter. "Oh, oh!" she wheezes. "Unicorn royalty are ten times worse than wolves, and I'm not just saying that! My god, Kendra, you're gonna go through hell!"

Kendra grimaces. "I was afraid you were going to say something like that. But you said something earlier… even Boro? I thought you two were, like, a couple or something…"

Fiona's face blackens, and Kendra feels herself treading on treacherous ground. "I might think the same," she mutters darkly, "if he didn't have a girl waiting at home for him. A very pretty wolf, she is. And, trust me, last time we were together, Boro cheated on me. I'm not helping him do the same to this poor she wolf."

Kendra's eyes open with shock. "What?" she yelps in surprise.

Fiona flicks her ears back, turning to Kendra sadly. "Princes are all the same. They woo you, sprouting the sappiest things in the world, whispering exactly what you want to hear into your ears, giving you fabulous gifts, and making you love them with all your heart. But, Kendra," spits Fiona bitterly, "it's just a game. You're just as replaceable as I. Unicorns may be different from wolves, Kendra, but keep an eye on Bracken. Don't be as blind as a bat. Stay two steps ahead, stay on guard, expect anything from anyone. You and I, Kendra, we aren't so different."

Kendra watches, open-mouthed, as Fiona rises crossly and stomps off, the she wolf lost in her own angry thoughts. She jumps at a very familiar voice breathing right next to her shoulder.

"I guess now you think poorly of me," sighs Boro, making Kendra whirl around, hand already on Bracken's dagger. The golden wolf stares after Fiona wistfully. His voice lowers. "You see, I had to let her go, Kendra Sorenson; I had to. A Soul Bearer and a Wolf King cannot… it just cannot happen. The bloodlines cannot be mixed. I love Fiona with every bone in my body, ever hair on my pelt, but if I stayed any longer with her, I would not be able to leave and do my duties." Boro sighs, an ancient sound that arouses Kendra's pity. "But once lost, Fiona's affection is never regained. Cadeliah taught me that lesson with three scars across my face."

Kendra gawks at him, her love of romance contradicting everything the Wolf Prince had just said. She's about to protest but someone beats her to it.

"Zia is just going to eat this up!" breathily exclaims a tall, slender girl with golden ringlets and pure white feathered wings. Kendra frowns, recognizing Cassandra's voice. The girl, possibly Cassandra, wails with excitement. "Ooooo, I can just see this story exploding everywhere on Howlz!"

Boro rolls his eyes in amusement as she flaps off, joining the two dark astrids swooping through the sky. "The half-astrid twins are renowned among wolves as being relationship troublemakers. One has a love of romance, the other of gossip. It's a very deadly combo."

Kendra laughs, but is still confused by something. "What's Howlz?"

Boro shrugs. "Twitter for wolves. I don't have an account. Anyway, I hope Fiona's feisty disclaimers didn't hurt your opinion of Bracken. That guy is super in love with you. I'm not entirely sure if he was kidding when he told me to keep my paws off." Boro frowns, as if this troubles him, but then straightens. "Woop, gotta go! Cadeliah's announcement is about to start! This is going to go well!"

Kendra eyes him suspiciously. "Was that sarcasm?"

* * *

Seth watches as Cadeliah scales the tall tendril of rocks. It's about thirty feet high, with no obvious climbing pegs, just tiny little ledges and cracks. But she races up it at a dizzying speed, barely resting on a ledge longer than a second or two, circling it strategically instead of scaling it head-on like he'd seen other wolves do. Finally, she reaches the very top, and strikes a regal pose, clearing her throat for silence. Her voice is magically loud, like all of the wolves that'd climbed the post.

"Wolves of Caelum Amplexu, I, Cadeliah the Soul Bearer, have a few announcements to make!" she bellows, musical voice ringing over the valley. "First off, we – oh, what in heaven's name are you doing, Thunder-Bolt, Sand-Heart, and Flash-Foot?"

Seth swivels to see that all three of the new family. They hoist up giant blown-up photos of themselves making faces with their mouths, Thunder-Bolt help Flash-Foot with his. Seth laughs in surprised delight at the sense of humor behind that.

"Being creative," answers Thunder-Bolt, his muffled voice also loud.

"Let's all agree, to never be creative again!" sings Seth to himself. He jumps, realizing that his voice is also very loud and boom-y.

"Don't hug me," yelps Kendra's booming voice, "I'm scared!"

After a moment of silence, Bracken's voice is next, and by the sound of it, the poor dude is _really_ confused. "_What_?"

"Okay," laughs Cadeliah, regaining control of the situation. "First off, I'd like to thank Chaos, King of Shadows, for his assistance making balloon animals for the pups and Kendra. Secondly, I'd like to welcome – and excuse me for a moment." Her voice doesn't sound like she's speaking into a microphone, but the natural volume of her roar makes Seth wince. She leaps forward, teeth flashing as she shouts at no one in particular.

"SETH SORENSON, IF I CATCH YOU TIME-TRAVELING AGAIN, I WILL GROUND YOU FOR SO LONG THAT YOU'LL FORGET YOUR OWN NAME!"

There's an awkward moment of silence as Cadeliah shakes out her fur and organizes herself. Seth blinks in surprise. Brach's voice is the one that's loud this time, drawling out the vowels. "Buuussttteedddd."

"Alright, now, secondly, I'd like to welcome River-Song into our hospitality, and invite her to stay as long as she likes. I expect the greatest manners from all of you when addressing our guest." Cadeliah glares down at the wolves, like, _you'd better give her your best behavior_. "And, lastly, the Fairy Queen and a group of her subjects are on their way here, to join us in our celebrations!"

To Seth's surprise, there's some grumbling about this announcement. The wolves glance at each other in irritation, growling things under their breath that Seth can't quite hear. He glances around in surprise. None of the wolves look very happy about this, but only one speaks up.

"That minx isn't welcome here!" roars out an unpleasant looking she-wolf with fangs too big for her mouth and tiny ears. Seth winces at her shrill voice. It's practically right in his ear, since the wolf is just a few feet away.

Cadeliah turns to look at the wolf, and the mood changes abruptly. Seth swears he can see the Soul Bearer narrow her eyes from this distance. Then, with a great flying leap that spans the distance and makes Seth gasp, Cadeliah lands right in front of the she-wolf, Soul Stone blaring with violet light. Seth's right; her eyes are narrowed and glowing with those curling lines across her face. She takes three ominous steps towards the outspoken she-wolf.

"What are those lines?" murmurs Seth to Thunder-Soul.

The wolf stares at him. "What lines?"

"Long-Fang," booms Cadeliah powerfully, but her voice is gentle and forgiving, "you hold a grudge, child. These will be our undoing if we let them rule us. Yes, it was a shame that she had to break your mother in front of you as a pup. It was shameful for both your mother and the Fairy Queen. That's why I don't want to break you in front of your children."

Seth's eyebrows raise as he realizes the perfectly delivered threat in Cadeliah's message. Beside him, Thunder-Soul whistles softly in awe. He shakes his head. "Haven't heard an insult like that for quite a while. Pretty impressive, I've got to say." Seth nods in agreement.

The wolf, apparently Long-Fang, cowers back, fading into the crowd without another word. There's complete silence over the field, broken by Brach randomly shouting, "Holy cheesecakes, I spy a rib with my little eye!" at the top of his lungs. Seth swears he sees Cadeliah's impassive face twitch with amusement.

The she wolf stalks back to her spire, taking another huge leap and landing gracefully atop the surface. Seth can't help gawking at how well Cadeliah had solved the situation. No violence and hardly any threatening, noting the wrongs of the Fairy Queen and showing her people that it can't be repeated. She gazes out over her subjects regally.

"Well?" Cadeliah harrumphs after a second of silence. "We're having one of the most famous figures in history over to party! Get ready! Set up the decorations! I want this celebration to be a memorable one, not just one of those bashes that the Fairy Queen always has in that ridiculously large ball room of hers! Break out the gold dust! Pluck the flowers! Braid the wreathes! Make yourselves and our home look admirable! I trust you with this job! Do not let me down!"

And with that, Cadeliah leaps off of her pedestal, cleaving through the crowd of freshly excited wolves.

* * *

Kendra jumps as Bracken nudges her gently, jumping three feet in the air. Well, probably not, but it _feels_ like three feet. He smiles reassuringly at her, laying a soft hand on her shoulder.

Kendra smiles back up at him. Fiona's dismissal of princes leaves her a bit iffy about Boro, but she doesn't have a doubt about Bracken. The sweet unicorn is more lovesick than Kendra had ever imagined anyone being. Plus, he's sweet and protective, things Kendra can't help loving about him. In a way, she supposes she's just as love-struck as the sappy unicorn. Except she's _better at hiding it_.

"Hey, there, Unicorn," Kendra greets, elbowing Bracken's ribs. "Any reason in particular you're sneaking up on innocent maidens?"

Bracken chuckles. "Yes, actually. I'm the Fairy Prince, and you're my mother's handmaiden. We need to be with the group as it enters this party the wolves are creating, since we are officially her representatives among the Great Wolves."

Kendra blinks, nervousness mounting. "But – Cadeliah said this party will be formal attire. I don't have anything formal, nothing even remotely presentable to the most important unicorns in the Fairy Kingdom…"

Bracken lays a hand on her shoulder, but someone else calms Kendra.

"We can help," squeaks a familiar voice from behind Kendra. She whirls around to see little Yetta, cocking her head and looking up at her with big, hopeful sea green eyes. "Us pups, we're always wanting to give a human a makeover. I mean, you can only do so much with a wolf: file and polish the nails, prick the fur, smooth the ears, groom the tail, and add a fancy flower or wreath. But with humans…" Yetta squirms with barely contained excitement. "Hair, makeup, dresses, galore! Oh please, oh please, oh please say yes!"

Kendra laughs at the pup's enthusiasm. "Sure thing."

Yetta throws her tiny little head back and howls, "REINFOCRMENTS! WE'VE GOT A TAKER!" Kendra blinks as lines of little she-pups begin herding her away from Bracken and through the crowd with little nudges and nips at her ankles, steering her through the mob.

"Oh." Kendra stares at the girl who had spoken, a tall woman with a perfect hourglass figure accented with a snug ankle-length blue dress. The girl stares back with cobalt eyes and strange grey hair, not the type because of age, but cool grey. With a start, Kendra realizes that, with the odd greyish cast to her flawless skin and the two fairy wings ribboned with silver and blue, that it's River-Song standing in front of her. River-Song shakes her head in pity.

"Oh." She sighs slowly, looking down at the crowd of pups. "Oh, Kendra, you poor, poor thing."

* * *

Kendra stares at the beautiful stranger in the mirror. She twirls experimentally, and her dress fans out like a supermodel's. The pups anxiously await her decision around her, whispering into each other's ears nervously.

Despite River-Song's reaction to Kendra being taken away by the pups, the entire situation had been rather enjoyable. They had guided her to a rocky valley pitted with hot springs and volcano-warmed ponds, already filling with she-wolves.

Kendra had felt embarrassed in front of everyone as she'd climbed into the hot spring with nothing on, even though they're wolves and practically walk around naked. No one had cast her a second glance, thankfully. The pups had been surprisingly gentle as they'd massaged the specially made shampoo and conditioner into her hair, turning it soft and manageable, like all of those name-brand products are supposed to do. They'd gone so far as to even throw a bath bomb made by Berry-Fur to scent her skin like mint and eucalyptus leaves, and rubbing her skin down with rough skin scrub.

Once she'd gotten out, they'd resorted to beautifying. Wearing only a bath towel, the pups had laboriously scrubbed and cleaned and polished every inch of Kendra's body, clipping her nails and smoothing oils into her silky brown hair, rubbing at the callouses on her feet and chafing her with weird lotions.

Then the mega dress-up game had begun.

There'd been so many dresses, Kendra isn't really sure she can remember all of them. All colors of the rainbow had at some point in time been tried on by Kendra, every hue imaginable, every variation of shades and tints had been reviewed in the giant glass mirror. Finally deciding on a white dress, the pups had settled down with makeup and hair and accessories.

Honestly? Kendra kind of likes the dress. It fits her figure well, making her blahness look much better than without. The white dress looks normal, but it has a layer of sheer bronze sparkles embedded into the silky material that catch the sunlight and send barely discernible glitters flying. A chic copper belt with two brown leather sheathes (borrowed from Cadeliah) is strapped around her waist. Even without the rest of the makeover, Kendra had looked better than she could usually pull off even if she tried.

And then the makeup had begun.

The pups are more expert than they look with fashion. Kendra's dark brown eye shadow isn't overdone in the slightest, but emphasizing on the natural shape of her eyes. They'd given her a slight splash of blush, adding to the figure of her cheekbones. With over-exaggerated care, Yetta had traced the slight curve of faint eyeliner around Kendra's lashes, and had quickly swiped her lashes with a dash of mascara.

The face Kendra sees in the mirror is beautiful, but realistically so; like British actors. Kendra remembers the haughtily sexy appearances of American actors, and how they seem so pumped up with Botox and god knows what else that they look weird and artificial. British actors, as well as any European actor… they're pretty, alright, but they're also real looking, with moles and crooked noses and hair that just won't cooperate and faces that you know haven't been treated by aliens. Kendra wonders if that's what Bracken meant that she's beautiful in a human sort of way.

The pups had given her so much hair junk that is seemed ridiculous to just bind it up in a hairdo, but apparently, that had been the plan all along. Braiding her hair in a long plait with a metallic ribbon running through, the wolves had somehow made her hair look longer and glossier. They'd also parted her hair differently, which better fits her face and features, honestly.

Taken altogether, Kendra looks stunning, like a queen herself. Worries knot in her chest, writhing like a nest of snakes, at the face in the mirror. Sure, she doesn't look artificial in the slightest, but she's also different than what Bracken's used to. What if… what if she doesn't look like herself? What if she isn't his term of beauty anymore?

"What do you think?" questions Jhama anxiously, peering at the image in the mirror skeptically. Kendra opens her mouth to compliment, but the wolf is already on her feet and literally barking orders at her inferiors.

"Yetta and Heart-Hook! Go fetch a golden peony!" she commands, tail held high and ears perky. "Make sure it's small, but not ridiculously so, and full of health! Be back as soon as possible!"

The two pups bolt off. Kendra laughs nervously. "You really don't –"

They arrive about two seconds later, Heart-Hook gingerly clutching a gilded flower in her teeth. Clambering up on Kendra's shoulders, Jhama gently weaves the gold blossom at the foot of her braid, adding the correct sparkle to the outfit, she's got to admit.

"Perfect," growls Jhama in satisfaction, stepping back to admire her work. All of the wolves' eyes gleam in awe as they study Kendra. To please them, she twirls again, braid flying along with the edges of her silky dress. A lot of "ooos" and "ahhhs" accompany the gesture, plus Yetta's cute victory jig.

"Hey, have any of you seen—" Fiona sticks her royal head through the cave entrance, wolf eyebrows shooting up at the sight of Kendra. "Whoa-ho! Somebody's got a date tonight!"

Kendra blushes, and rushes to correct the Soul Wolf. "Not a date! I'm just going with Bracken to—"

"Hun, that's a date," complains Fiona, shaking her head and making the amethyst beads clatter.

Kendra turns even redder. "We're going to meet the Fairy Queen, and it's all black tie."

Fiona looks a tad bit disappointed. "Really? Huh. I'd been hoping for some Brackendra action to draw the media's attention. There's been way too much Fioro crap running around recently."

"Huh?" questions Fire-Eyes, cocking her grey head in confusion.

"Fioro," explains Fiona. "Fiona and Boro. And I'll have you all know that it's not going to happen. Not in a million years."

Kendra shakes her head. "Suuuuurrre."

Fiona rolls her eyes and mutters something like, "Just wait until pony boy breaks your heart in half…" before wandering off with her head high.

There's silence for a moment. Then Yetta pipes up, "Can we be there when Bracken sees you for the first time?" A chorus of, "Oh please!" and "Please Kendra, please!" and one "Who is _Bracken_? Isn't that, like, mud?" follows this, and Kendra holds her hands up for quiet.

Once they're all silent and gazing up at Kendra with adorable hope-filled eyes, she sighs and relents. "Alright. You can come."

* * *

"I didn't know saying you could come would mean that you'd force me into this!" hisses Kendra crossly as the pups nip at her with a little more energy than they had last time. An icky sensation of dread fills her stomach as they grow closer and closer to the place the "scouting party" had last spotted Bracken at. Their eyes sparkle with excitement. Kendra has a feeling she's about to become Fiona's distraction as an all-too-familiar pair of white and black owls alight along a snow-topped crest. Kendra glares at them pointedly. They don't even bother to look at her.

Finally the pups roughly shove her into a rocky circular valley. She immediately pinpoints Bracken but refuses to make eye contact, looking firmly at the ground at all times. The pups giggle and whisper, but they back away. Bracken hasn't noticed her yet. He's in the middle of a deep conversation with a wolf Kendra doesn't recognize, one with red brindle fur and silver eyes a bit like his.

Kendra tries to not to get herself noticed, making herself small and angling her face away. It's embarrassing! "Stop slouching," whispers Yetta soothingly. "Your figure is great in that dress when you're _not slouching_!"

Kendra straightens, but still doesn't look at him, studying the rocks under her feet. She can't help hearing Bracken's strangled gasp as he notices her for the first time. But is that a good noise? Or a noise of disgust?

Kendra slowly trails up and meets Bracken's eyes. He's on a beeline to her, moving swiftly and ignoring other wolves. Kendra can't really distinguish the emotion shining in his gorgeous eyes, but there's definitely a lot of shining going on.

Nervously, Kendra notices he gets close enough for casual conversation… and then a bit closer. _Love_, Kendra realizes with a bolt of lightning through her. _That's what's shining in his eyes_. Bracken sweeps her up in his arms, spinning her around and making her dress twirl like they do in movies. The pups wail with happiness.

After a few cycles, Bracken sets Kendra down and cups her cheek to his face. "You look so beautiful," he murmurs huskily. Kendra smiles and jabs him in his ribs.

"Don't you know girls like to be loved based on their _personality_, not their _looks_?" she teases, even though she's probably going to get a: "Oh my dear lovely Kendra I am undoubtedly a sinner to name my love in such a manner!" for an answer.

Miracles do happen.

Bracken opens his mouth to protest, and Kendra can just feel the cheesiness in his embrace. But Cadeliah and Seth pad up, in the midst of a conversation that interests Kendra (a lot more) than Bracken's corny speech. She's careful to keep all of these thoughts away from his horn, of course.

"—you _are_ a time traveler in the future, Seth," informs Cadeliah, wandering up to Kendra and Bracken, "but I feel I'm entitled to setting down what time travel really is before you go off frolicking into the distance. Too much of it can damage your brain in ways that even I can't fully comprehend. There are so many things that could go wrong; it's so unpredictable it isn't worth it, unless you're with an experienced time traveler like Aladdin or the Wanderer."

"But Aladdin's dead!" exclaims Seth in surprise.

Cadeliah cocks her head. "Is he? My brother has cheated death one too many times for me to mourn over him too badly. Besides, there's still a younger version of him out there somewhere, playing with future. I know he takes Kendra once on an adventure. Notice the use of the word once… Oh, hello, Kendra and Bracken!" The wolf smiles at them. She turns back to Seth. "I'm sorry, Seth, I was trying to stall as long as possible. Chaos wants you over to his field to train some more. He's coming this way, and he'll give both of us hell if I don't tell you."

Seth sighs in exasperation. "Why can't that dude just enjoy a party?"

Cadeliah shrugs. "He has his reasons," she explains loosely.

The Soul Bearer pads up to them, looking kindly from one to the other with judging eyes. "Oh, I'm so Brackendra…"

Kendra resists the urge to give the wolf a bop on the nose. "Enough!"

Cadeliah shakes her head. "Alright. I do have some official business to impart on you before you leave, which is the sooner the better. I'm going to send Brach with you, if you don't mind. You won't realize he's there, but he'll be if any trouble strikes up."

"We don't mind," laughs Bracken. "He'll have an opportunity to see something other than these arrogant Fire-Flies flit around." Kendra casts an odd glance at him, and _Tell you later _comes through the horn.

"Secondly…" Cadeliah's eyes scan the distant trees, abruptly unreadable. "Stay on the path. At all costs, stay on the path. That goes for you and the Fairy Queen's party. Something is happening in those woods, something I do not like…"

Kendra and Bracken nod in unison.

"And, lastly," Cadeliah whispers, ducking her massive head closer and dropping to such a low volume Kendra has troubles hearing, "she must not stay any longer than two days. When the sun sets two days from now, she must be off this preserve." Cadeliah's eyes flick fearfully back and forth to the two of them. "Something is coming. I cannot send you and your group away, but I can warn you. The horizon is not red; it is black, something I fear more. There is a contagion coming, one that, if it should infect the Fairy Queen, all would be lost for every creature of light. She must escape this sanctuary and return to her realm.

"As for the rest of us…" Cadeliah shakes her head. "I suppose we can pray."

* * *

Cadeliah throws up her head and howls mournfully at the sight of the unicorn and his fairy princess, but not a Fairy Princess, not yet, at least, on the perilous route to the Queen. High above them, her son that looks so very much like Brambling flies high above, beating his wings furiously to keep airborne.

"Beware," she whispers half-heartedly, "of the Titanium Plague."

* * *

**Sorry this one took so long to write! I've been busy the past few days what with school starting up and such; haven't been able to spit them out at my usual ferocity. You have my apologies. **

**Now, what's going on? What does Cadeliah know that she's not telling everybody else? What is the Titanium Plague? And what's her plan with the hides?**

**POLL: Okay, now which of my characters do you like the best? Has your answer changed since the first poll?**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	26. Chapter 25

**Okay, I'm back! How are you guys? *pauses awkwardly like real-life Dora* That's great!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Five**

"Up," snarls Chaos. Seth hears the wolf through a layer of fuzz. Everything aches, coursing pain that pounds in his head. The wolf snarls again, and Seth feels his razor sharp claws raking down his back. "UP!"

Slowly, muscles screaming with protest, Seth staggers to his feet. Sweat beads on his forehead, sticky droplets running down his face. The gouges Chaos had carved into his back feel warm and wet. Vasilis glows weakly in his hands, the formerly formidable sword just a small flicker of fire racing along the blade. Chaos snorts incredulously as Seth rocks on his feet.

"You wouldn't even scare a field mouse looking like that!" he roars, appearing behind Seth and knocking him to his feet again. The cool grass feels so good on Seth's face… "A shadow charmer is the incarnation of fear. Whether your personality is scary or not, you must harness the power pulsing through your veins. You cannot do that with your pitiful level of training!"

Seth groans and rises agonizingly to his feet again. His muscles quiver. The wolf growls at him. "Why… why do you hate me?" he manages to stutter.

Chaos looks at him for a long moment with those glowing purple eyes. The wolf looks fine, his striped pelt not even that ruffled, his cloak hanging around his paws. His queer eyes flash with anger. "What made you believe that I hate you, insufferable boy?"

"'Insufferable boy,'" quotes Seth, hoisting up his sword weakly. His hands shake. Cadeliah's going to have to sure him again.

Chaos snarls in anger and Seth feels something that startles him in the pit of his stomach.

Hate. Lots of it.

With a horrible roar and a painful tug at his gut, Seth cuts off the wolf's leap for him, sending a burst of energy to smash Chaos violently into a nearby tree. The wolf's body makes a horrible crack noise as he hits the bark, and the striped guy falls to the ground lifelessly, limbs contorted into unusual positions. With a gasp, Seth throws down Vasilis and hurtles his aching muscles forward, propelling himself over the distance and collapsing beside Chaos, stroking the wolf's fur anxiously.

"Chaos?" Seth gasps in horror. "Chaos? Chaos? C'mon, you bag of bones, wake up!"

Seth shakes the wolf, and Chaos groans softly. Sighing in relief, Seth settles back on his haunches. His eyes widen, and he studies Chaos's soft striped coat of fur. What is normally covered in his billowing grey cloak is weird and voodoo-ish. The dark grey stripes curl into things like stars and moons and comets and all sorts of stuff all over his hide. But what really catches Seth's attention is the scars crisscrossing his flanks, the runes carved into his flesh.

Seth's pretty certain that the sloppy word "DEVIL" scrawled viciously into Chaos's skin isn't in English. The wolf pants, making the grey scars ripple with every breath. Seth rocks back in awe. Chaos awakens with a great gasp, purple eyes blazing. Seth recoils, but he can't fully escape the spell Chaos mutters.

But it's not a bad spell.

Seth feels like he's getting one of Grandma's massages, all over his body at the same time. Lifting a hand, he sees the dirt fall off and the cuts knit themselves back together. Seth goes open-mouthed with amazement.

"Good boy," praises Chaos, his voice warm and filled with more emotion than Seth had ever heard. Seth retracts himself even further from the strange wolf, eyeing him suspiciously. Muttering something under his breath, Chaos rises shakily to his feet, splaying his paws to grip the ground. His cloak waves in a breeze, gently setting the dark material back on Chaos's broad shoulders and covering the hideous scars.

"Aren't you angry?" whispers Seth. The effects of Chaos's magical massage wear off abruptly, leaving him rejuvenated.

"Angry?" Chaos's voice booms with a deep hearty laugh. "My boy, this is what I've been trying to do all along! You've unlocked your… well, I would say 'inner power,' but that feels like I'm quoting a movie. Your Night energy will flow much easier now."

Seth blinks, comprehension and irritation mounting. "You've been a jerk to me ever since we met just so I could get some stupid powers?"

"Oh, trust me," growls Chaos balefully, eyeing Seth with an evil gaze, "I am still a big and mean jerk. My jubilation is just getting in the way of my bitterness. Oh, here it comes." Chaos closes his eyes and breathes in slowly, just to aggravate Seth. "Ah, that's better. Now, let's get back to work."

* * *

Brach's human ears prick to an odd noise, something he didn't expect to hear. Curiously, he freezes in the mass of the frenzying wolves and tries to locate its origination, but is met with only silence. Well, silence other than the frenzying wolves. Cocking his head, he laboriously beats his fragile wings and levitates a few feet off the ground, attempting to hear over the noise of the _thump thump thump_ of his wings.

And Brach hears it. The distinguishable noise of human sobbing.

What would any normal six-year-old child do at the sound of someone crying?

Brach hones in on the sound, beating his wings as hard as he can. A gust hits his sides and sends him veering off course. Flapping furiously, he breaks through the air current and gets back in neutral air.

The whole flying thing is a lot harder than it looks. Even though his wings are huge, not as flimsy as they may seem, fairy wings aren't meant for huge, unaerodynamic bodies. They don't cut through the air like bird wings, and he's too heavy to float through the air like a butterfly. Brach's much too inexperienced to use magic to aid his flight like a dragon, so his awkward flaps make a little sense.

Using his special superman vision, Brach pinpoints the figure, not far from the dancing circle field thing. Going into a crazy dive, Brach dips through the air. The wind whips in his face wildly. He pulls up a couple half seconds from hitting the ground, landing unsteadily and rocking on his feet.

"That was sure was some fancy flying," grunts the figure. Brach looks at her curiously. It's obviously female, and obviously has a humanoid figure. Long grey hair tumbles over her shoulders in a mass of curled locks. Two fairy wings drape from her back. Her blue dress is a little tight. Brach wonders how on earth that could be comfortable. What tempted this girl to wear something like that?

Brach sits there awkwardly. The girl had stopped crying as soon as he had alighted, just sitting there miserably, curled up in a ball. "Umm…" Brach shuffles his feet.

"Are you still here?" snarls the girl unpleasantly, lurching herself up. Brach jumps up away from her face, which is half morphed into a horrible wolf snarl. She bares her thick wolf fangs and roars, fur covering his face, blue eyes blazing, muzzle bulging from her face. "Run away, little fairy, before the BIG BAD WOLF comes and EATS YOU UP!" Her voice breaks towards the end, and she buries her partially wolf face back in her arms and sobs some more, collapsing on the ground. The heartbrokenness in her voice sends a surge of sympathy through Brach.

And he knows who it is now.

Before he fully knows what he's doing, Brach uses his awkward human hands to gently tug the girl to her feet. She fights it, shoving at him with fingers curling into talons, until he acts on instinct and clutches the wolf fairy girl to his chest, minding her broad butterfly wings. She remains tense for a second, rigid in his gangly arms, before relaxing and breaking into raspy sobs. Burying her face miserably into his loose white T-shirt, she cries. And cries.

And cries, and cries, and cries.

Despite his good intentions, Brach's still has a little kid's attention span and interest levels. But, to his surprise, Brach finds remarkable patience as he cradles his fellow wolf person in his embrace, wiping away her tears and tolerantly accepting her sniveling sobs, completely sacrificing his shirt to her breakdown.

Finally, the sobs begin to lessen. "You wouldn't help me – if – you knew who – what – I am," she manages to fit between shaking breaths, looking up at him bitterly.

Brach smiles down at her. "You're River-Song. The Fairy Wolf." The girl starts in surprise. "But I also know that you were crying. I know that you were sad. I don't know why, but I see no reason that I shouldn't help you because of something that happened ages ago. Literally."

She glares up at him suspiciously. "Did Zia put you up to this?"

Brach frowns. "That's the one with white feathers, right? Or is Zia a guy name?"

"I'll take that as a no." River-Song laughs. She shakes in his arms with her laughter. Brach cocks his head and grins down at her dopily. He would let his tongue loll from his mouth, but Kendra doesn't do that, so humans must not do that. He must act normal.

"Why were you crying?" he questions. River-Song's barriers instantly fly up; he can see them in her cobalt eyes. Hastily, he adds, "I mean, don't tell me if it's too personal. I just wondered, that's all. It's hard, being a guy with a teen's instincts and a toddler's mind. Very confusing. Well, actually, I lied. Mum says I have her mind."

"Mum…?" trails River-Song, and heated comprehension flashes in her eyes. "You're Cadeliah's son, aren't you? Brach, right?" Brach nods. "Oh, that poor old mumma wolf."

Brach looks at her, eyes swimming with confusion. "What's wrong with my mum?"

River-Song hesitates for a moment. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

Kendra's heart is pounding ridiculously fast. She can sense it hammering in her veins. She's also pretty sure that Bracken knows about it too, because every so often, he shoots her an amused glance.

It's very lucky that one particularly ingenious pup thought of casting this spell on her dress and hair. No matter if Kendra romps through a puddle of mud or gets twigs galore twined in her braid, her look magically corrects itself, hair popping back into place and dirt just falling off. Faintly, she wonders if it will ever wear off.

"There's something wrong with this forest," remarks Bracken randomly, taking Kendra's hand in his and staring off into the trees. "Before, there was nothing. But now… it's like the woods themselves are holding their breath. Waiting." Kendra shoots him a sharp glance.

"You better not be just scaring me so I'll walk faster," she growls.

"It's not much further now," coaxes Bracken gently, rubbing her thumb over Kendra's hand in a way she loves. "I can sense my mother's presence."

Kendra glances at him nervously, sending him a shot of her terrified emotions through his horn/bracelet. He smiles at her, and a flood of confidence and reassurance rushes her mind.

They pass by the statue of the white wolf, and this time, Kendra studies it closer. There's something really, really familiar about the figure carved into the pale marble, the way the stone fur ruffles, the shape of his muzzle, the slender legs packed with muscles. She can't quite put her finger on it, but the white figure makes her mind reel…

Caught in her reverie, Kendra doesn't notice _it_ until Bracken yelps and puts himself in front of her body.

The poor scruffy chimera stumbles from the woods, except there's something wrong with it. Kendra watches in horror as it staggers lazily towards them, giggling madly and swaying with every hoofstep. It rebounds off the statue, staggering away like it'd been pushed. Her formerly green eyes are soulless black, reminding Kendra a little bit too much of her first horror movie. It doesn't even seem to notice Bracken or Kendra, just staggering around the clearing, giggling and bonking into trees like some sort of madwomen.

Kendra can clearly make out a huge bite-mark on its goat-like withers, still pulsing with dark blood. One of the chimera's wings is gone. Just gone. All that's left is a fountain of onyx liquid erupting from a lifeless stump. Her rhino horn is chipped and broken, and fur had been torn violently from her golden mane, clumping and matted. Both of her deer antlers are snapped and rugged.

She throws her leonine head back and cackles, before jerking her head around and burying her cracked fangs into her own wing.

Kendra's jaw drops as the chimera yanks on the bat-like limb, and she winces as the sound of tearing flesh fills the air. It comes free with a sickeningly pop. The chimera giggles around the wing and tosses the wing away. Kendra ducks as a bloody chimera wing goes sailing over her head.

But the chimera isn't finished yet.

With a horrible grin, the chimera bites at her own front rooster claw, gnawing savagely at the skin and causing herself to bleed excessively. Seeing the fractured teeth repeatedly chew at the meat along her bone, Kendra can't help but let out a soft sound of horrified pity.

That's the biggest mistake she's made in a long while.

The chimera's head jerks up, mouth dropping open to allow her limb to fall uncoordinatedly to the ground. Bracken curses something _very_ naughty in the Fairy Language, earning him a slap from Kendra, and moves in front of her. Kendra draws Cadeliah's swords, willing them to become the long and elegant daggers.

It takes two wobbly steps forward, and drops into an unsteady crouch, goat legs trembling and scarred rooster claws sinking into the dirt. Bracken tenses. Kendra readies the light dagger. Bunching the last of its tattered muscles, the chimera leaps through the air, rooster talons clawing viciously at the air, blood-stained fangs bared and catching the sunlight. Bracken gets in front of Kendra, blocking the chimera's leap.

But the chimera falls short.

Horror encroaches on Kendra as the chimera crumples painfully to the ground, not five feet from Bracken, and the clean _pop_ of a bone snapping fills the clearing. Nausea mounts as Kendra stares, uncomprehending, at the awkward angle of the chimera's neck. She tries to swallow it down. Bracken brushes his hand against hers, and the awful flavor vanishes from her mouth.

If the chimera's neck bone being broken had been the only thing, Bracken might not have reacted the way he did. But Kendra hears its gurgle of pain, and sees the horror in its suddenly normal green eyes. Before Bracken shields her eyes, Kendra sees the truth. The chimera woke up. It realized what it had become, what it had done, seconds before death.

"Oh, Bracken," whispers Kendra as her wonderful unicorn ushers her away, angling her face away from the grunting body of the dying chimera, "what is this hell we've entered?"

Bracken has no answers.

* * *

The wind rustles through Tatiana's feathers, a breeze that carries so much more than meek scents and coolness. She closes her pitch-black eyes and focuses on the sensation, unsure of how much longer she'll have to cherish the feeling of simple wind. Distantly, she can hear the man, Phillips or something along those lines, repeating over and over again, "Did you do it? Did you plant the virus? Are the wolves catching it?"

Tatiana rolls around in her own misery for a few seconds, mourning the peace she feels now already. Her voice is quiet and toneless.

"It is done."

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" inquires Fiona softly, watching her mother pace back and forth. Fiona's been studying her mum, the all-powerful Cadeliah, long enough to know that something is bothering her, something major. The way she talks, the way she smiles, the way the old wolf even studies her surroundings… Cadeliah has a theory bugging her.

Cadeliah stops dead in her tracks, looking at her daughter with haunted eyes. And then, with absolutely no warning, Cadeliah freezes and falls lifelessly to the ground, golden eye winking with light.

Fiona is up on her feet immediately, nursing her mother, whispering reassurances into Cadeliah's convulsing ears. Gently, Fiona takes up her mother's head, laying it across her paws, and softly licking her fur out of her eyes. Oddly, she gets a flashback of when Fiona was a pup herself, and Cadeliah would take her into those huge paws and cradles her until all of her worries just melted away. Even as Fiona matured, going from a silly little pup to the lean and mean last of the litter, Cadeliah would hold her and listen to every problem with so much patience. Even though she can be overprotective at times, Cadeliah is such an awesome mom.

Cadeliah starts awake in her paws, startling Fiona. Comprehension fills her mother's eyes, and Cadeliah does not look happy. Instantly, Fiona is on her feet, quickly followed by Cadeliah. The Soul Stone flashes.

"Of course," whispers Cadeliah to herself, eyes a million miles away. "Chaos and River-Song are siblings."

With that, Cadeliah is racing away through the tunnels, spouting random terms and making rushes turns. Fiona, coughing slightly on the dust her mother unknowingly throws in her wake, follows at the same breakneck speed, darting through the caves like two brown, furry arrows.

By the time Fiona catches up with her scatterbrained mum, Cadeliah is at the edge of one of the desks in her lab, scribbling furiously at pieces of paper. The familiar scent of books fills her nostrils. Fiona rolls her eyes, noticing the stack of parchments that Mum had already scrawled.

Mum? That thought perturbs Fiona. Even as a small pup, her mother had always insisted on Fiona and her now demised siblings to call her Cadeliah. As a kid, she'd wondered why Cadeliah had wanted that, but now she knows it's more of an emotional thing for her.

Absentmindedly, knowing better than interrupting Cadeliah, Fiona wanders over to the pile of papers. She catches her breath. Even with a few stokes of her ink-dipped claws, Cadeliah had captures the curve of Seth's face and the sharp figure of Chaos's muzzle perfectly. Before she can stop herself, Fiona blurts, "Why did you draw Chaos and Seth on the same one?"

Cadeliah rises, leaving the one called Tanu's face half finishes on his half of the paper, and begins pacing, back and forth, eyes darting wildly everywhere.

"'Seth' is another translation for 'Set,' the Egyptian god of chaos," she explains, her tone filled with forethought and reflection. "On top of that, he and Seth have a connection. Chaos was reckless as a youth, but tragedy, tragedy yet to befall upon Seth, sharpened his soul and calloused him to the world. On top of that, both have an older sister who was forcefully chosen at a young age to follow the path of light, even if Chaos doesn't know it. River-Song was a litter earlier than his. Funny, I think I saw them flirting this evening. That's gotta be awkward."

Fiona snorts, and leafs through the pile, reaching another one. "Boro and Bracken? No, wait, let me: they're both princes whose names start with 'B.'"

Cadeliah shoots Fiona a sour look. "Hilarious. You have the princes thing correct. Princes, _ancient_ princes that have been imprisoned for the longest time. Princes, whose jobs are about to fall like a ton of bricks upon their shoulders. Princes, who will have to be comforted by their princesses so very, very soon…"

Fiona flips through them until she lands a claw on a strange picture. This one has three images on it. "What about Kendra's?" she asks, fighting to keep her voice level.

Cadeliah stops pacing and looks at her daughter heartrendingly. She doesn't answer for a long second. "Kendra is… different," murmurs Cadeliah. "She has two roles to play in the new age, therefore two Wolfen counterparts."

Fiona glares up at Cadeliah, her temper running away with her. "Mum, I am on this parchment. So are River-Song and Kendra. And I have the Soul Stone. Get talking."

Cadeliah's eyes soften impossibly, filling with so many emotions that Fiona feels sorry for a second that she'd pushed her already burdened mother to speak about something that clearly bothers her. But her next few lines wipe anything but terror from Fiona's mind.

"Something great is happening, my child. It's happening at this moment, as we speak. A new age is dawning, a golden age, a time of peace. But this new era is exactly that: _new_. For now, small grains of sand are the only things escaping the hourglass of life, but soon they will all tumble, and the world will collapse, new leaders rising from the dust. Princes will become Kings, Wolves will become Bearers, Apprentices will become Masters, and Servants will become Scribes. There will be no place for old wolves like me. My disturbance of time will be wiped from the universe. Your time is coming, my dear Fiona; so tell me, are you ready for it?"

* * *

**So, according to Cadeliah, this mega-apocalypse thing is going to happen, and everything that everybody knows is going too change as the wolves regain power! Thanks for that reality check, Cadeliah! So that's why they call you Little Miss Sunshine!**

**This chapter's poll: would you guys get to weepy if I killed off one of the main characters that I created? Because, guys, I've hinted at it so far, but something massive is coming. We're close to the final stretch. **

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	27. Chapter 26

**And I'm back! We're going to go into the Fairy Queen's mysterious rivalry with the wolves in this chapter, and find more about the missing father of Brach, Jhama, and Yetta. :(**

**Pray for Cadeliah! This entire chapter is basically: **_**This is my fantiction I can write what I want! **_**So no flames! Constructive criticism, yes, but no flames.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Six**

Bracken watches Kendra adoringly as she gawps at the long train of elegant unicorns and beautiful fairies. She closes her mouth as the Queen approaches, snapping it shut. Bracken considers that to be a pity.

In all honesty, the parade is a sight to behold. Tall, spindly dryads atop massive hummingbird mounts, graceful silvery unicorns, both human and horse, tiny fairies bickering endlessly while fluttering in the air, golden La-Heng stags, white deer with golden antlers, towering above with horns like branches, multiple astrid guardians with their wings expanded proudly and weapons bared in a silent threat, and Bracken's gorgeous mother, all of the auras combining to form one brilliant glow. Bracken is immensely amused to find that Kendra still burns brighter than all of them combined.

_Kneel_, he sends to Kendra through his horn as the Fairy Queen approaches. Kendra does so at precisely the same time as him, bowing her head slightly.

"Rise," commands Bracken's mother in a thrumming voice. Kendra doesn't quite get up as gracefully as she knelt, stumbling a bit, but Bracken knows that the Fairy Queen won't care. "Kendra, child, too long has it been since I've heard your voice!"

"I'm pleased you think so highly of me," answers Kendra, putting much hidden emotion into those few words. "I've also missed your guidance."

"And you." The Fairy Queen's voice sharpens as she turns to Bracken. He lets out a long sigh. "Don't even get me started on the commotion you caused, young man. It was supposed to be a simply visit! However pleased I may be that Cadeliah at long last has her Soul Stone, you are not off the hook for just… running off!"

Kendra bites her lip. She looks like she's trying very hard not to giggle.

"I'm sorry, mother," sighs Bracken. "It was of utmost importance. I had promised the Sorensons that I would assist with Seth's quest. When the matter arose, there simply wasn't time to send you a message of any sort."

The Fairy Queen harrumphs doubtfully. At her shoulder, Bracken's eldest sister shoots him an evil grin. "Get in line," orders the Fairy Queen. Bracken taps Kendra's hand, and takes his place at the Fairy Queen's left hand side. Kendra hesitates, not sure what to do, until Bracken sends, _Take your position behind my little party, beside Gilgarol. I'll join you once we start moving again. _

Uncertainly, Kendra steps beside the astrid captain, shooting both him and Bracken nervous glances. Bracken contacts the astrid. _Keep her safe._ Gilgarol's consent rises within Bracken's mind.

The Fairy Queen begins moving once more, and the long train hurries after her. Every one of his mother's fluid steps causing flowers to bloom around her feet, twining up her flowing blue gown. Bracken's sisters line either side of the Fairy Queen, their poised stances very serious and uptight. Judging from what he'd seen of the Great Wolves, they're in for a surprise when the Keepers of Balance turn out to be just a bunch of lunatics with an ear for music.

Bracken reaches out mentally to the Queen. _Mother, I think Kendra is a bit intimidated by all of this. May I go comfort her?_

His mother's amusement rolls over him like powerful waves crashing to shore. _Yes, you may console Kendra. However, wait a few minutes for conversations to start up once more before speaking to her, for Kendra's sake. _

Bracken counts five minutes of the slow walking before he drops back suddenly to Kendra. Gilgarol wanders off to the left as soon as Bracken takes his place at Kendra's right hand, subtly giving them privacy. Kendra smiles gratefully up at Bracken, melting his heart.

"So, what do you think?" he murmurs quietly, nudging her with his shoulder. "Great and Powerful Fairy Empire here!"

Kendra laughs. "I think that it's amazing." Her green eyes scan the crowd. "Are those your sisters up there?"

Bracken nods. "You'll probably have the best luck speaking to Burneda, my youngest sibling. The rest are rather stuck-up." A pebble bounces off of Bracken's forehead, from the relative direction of his family.

Kendra laughs softly, but she appears to have already moved on, thinking about something different. Her eyes study Bracken's face. "How old are you, really? I need to know."

Bracken's troubled by this. Unease knots in his stomach. Will she be disturbed? Will she think it sickening? He prays she'll take it casually, but he can't really do anything if she doesn't. This was bound to happen eventually.

"Let's play Twenty Questions," he decides, glancing down at Kendra. Her eyes light up.

"Are you… older than ten thousand?" she questions, clearly getting a kick out of it.

"Yes."

"Older than _twenty_ thousand?"

"No."

"Do you like bubbles?"

"What?"

"Okay, forget that one. Are you… older than fifteen hundred?"

"Yes."

"Sixteen hundred?"

"Yes."

"Seventeen hundred?"

"Yes."

"Eighteen hundred?"

"No."

Kendra does a victory pump. "Are you younger than one-seven-five-zero-zero?"

Bracken glances at her in confusion. "Do you mean seventeen thousand five hundred?"

"Answer the question." She gives him her best tough look, which is ruined by the laugh she struggles to stifle.

"No, I am not older than seventeen thousand five hundred."

And so on.

Finally, Kendra finds her answer. Bracken's pretty sure it takes over twenty questions, but congratulates her all the same. She seems to be fine with his age. But, then again, one of Kendra's friends is nearly forty thousand years old, and her very best buddy is twenty thousand. Age must not faze her so much anymore.

"Wow." Kendra blinks. "One-seven-five-eight-three. That's a big number."

"Seventeen thousand five hundred eighty three," corrects Bracken, smothering a smile. "And I'm still considered young for my species."

Kendra peers around at the adult unicorns all around her, those on four legs and those on two. "I must seem like an infant to you."

"Seventeen _is_ just a child," admits Bracken, specifically not mentioning that if Kendra had been a unicorn, she would still be bouncing on her mother's knee.

"Well, I'm glad I wasn't born a unicorn, then," decrees Kendra with a smile. Bracken glances at her sideways. Occasionally, he had toyed with the idea of being a unicorn by his side, and his thoughts had always been pleasant towards the possibility. Not that he would ever ask her to choose between her family and him, of course, but it's a nice thing to envision. Why would Kendra not wish such a fate upon herself?

"Oh?" questions Bracken, intrigued by her lack of interest.

Those glorious green eyes slide up to his, and Kendra smiles tenderly. "I highly doubt a baby would be able to appreciate… well, _you_."

Well, Bracken's on sucker-mode again. He ducks down and presses his lips to her temple, causing her to blush with happiness in front of the unicorn royals. He catches her hand, and would've answered something along the lines of, "I would've loved you all the same," if it hadn't been for the obnoxious man behind him.

Bracken tenses at the sound of throaty noise of disgust, the hairs standing on end. "You two are sick," groans the unicorn with his scratchy voice, moving away from Kendra with disdain, face twisted into a permanent scowl.

Bracken glowers at the imprudent unicorn as he meanders off. Kendra deflates slightly, slouching and looking around sheepishly. "Who is that?" she whispers to Bracken, eyes tracing the bitter unicorn as he stalks off rigidly.

Bracken grimaces, groping for an accurate description of the irritating unicorn. "That," he sighs, "is Charlie. I suppose you could call him my arch-nemesis. He seems to live only for my embarrassment. I apologize that you were drawn into this."

Kendra nearly stops as soon as she hears his name, as if it rings a bell. She looks as if she's biting down laughter. She looks up at Bracken incredulously. "Your archenemy is Charlie the Unicorn?"

Bracken frowns, realizing that there's something humorous to her about the name. "Charlie means the Bringer of Doom in multiple languages." Kendra tosses back her head and laughs, a magical sound.

"Bracken's archenemy, the only one he's ever truly feared: Charlie the Unicorn, Bringer of Doom," she teases, poking Bracken in the ribs. Even though her words are coarse, the softness in her eyes makes up for any rudeness as she stares at Bracken. Beautiful, beautiful green…

"HEY, SOUL SISTER!" bellows a familiar voice, and a white wolf with two fairy wings crash-lands into an ash tree not three feet from the Fairy Queen. Kendra laughs, but all of the astrid guardians tense and draw their weapons with menacing metallic hisses. Gilgarol leaps for Brach, golden weapon arching for the wolf's head…

And Brach moves in the nick of time. Bracken swears he sees a few sliced strands of white fur drifting to the ground. "Whoa!" yelps the pup, scampering backwards from Gilgarol. The astrid struggles to remove his blade from where it had embedded itself into the tree. "I come in peace! I am not a threat to you! And, might I say, _wow_, you look ticked off."

"Wait!" calls Kendra, throwing up her hands in a worldwide gesture for stop as Gilgarol frees his blade from the trunk of the tree. Amazingly, the astrid pauses, even without Bracken stepping forward and giving him a princely glare. "Wait!" she breathes, smiling in annoyed pity at Brach. "You are _so_ late, mister!"

Brach hangs his head and whines. "Yeah, sorry. Long story. I found an iPod in the middle of the woods, and then there was this weird man with a bunch of Barbie dolls. He offered me one. How could I resist? I spent nearly an hour playing dolls with that old guy. Never did learn his name… Say, Fairy Queen, right? I'm gonna call you Queenie. Queenie, you're not looking so good…"

Bracken turns and sees that, indeed, his mother isn't looking well. Her eyes glint with something akin to fear, and every muscle is tensed in her body. One hand goes to the horn at her belt. She stares at Brach like she's seen a ghost, someone returned from the dead to haunt her, to torture her for the rest of her life.

Brach frowns and cocks his head. "Did somebody cast a speechless spell? I know I have that effect on people, but usually it wears off…" He becomes distracted, looking further up the road. "Oh, look, it's a statue of my dad." He scurries off.

The Fairy Queen lets out a long breath. Bracken's eldest sister, Ikia, watches the wolf go with judging silver eyes. "Who is that?" she demands, turning to Kendra with an unpleasant frown. Bracken glares at his sister, just daring her to make a move against Kendra, but she ignores him completely.

"That's Brach," answers Kendra nonchalantly. "I accidently made him a few days ago. He's Cadeliah's son, and a big sweetheart. He won't hurt anybody. I saw him put a bird back in its nest yesterday, even when it turned out to be a baby firebird and scorched his nose."

"Cadeliah's son," mutters the Fairy Queen, eyes scanning the horizon. "We'd better go see which statue he was speaking of."

The party hurries after the Fairy Queen's hurried steps. Bracken realizes that something isn't right with her posture, the way she looks around, like she's being threatened. His sisters knit themselves closer around her, as if they know what's coming. It makes Bracken tense himself, expecting something to come flying from the woods.

Finally, they stop at the clearing with the masculine marble wolf statue. Somehow, the chimera carcass had been cleaned, so all that remains is an unpleasant stench hanging in the air. Kendra shivers beside him at the memory of the maddened beast. Brach's doing one of those modern dances at the base of the statue, allowing Bracken to truly compare the two.

Brach looks precisely like the wolf sculpture, minus the wings and something about the ears. The same broad head size and large muzzle, filled with the same thick teeth. The same huge paws and well-muscled legs, the same fluffy tail held in a dominant position, the same proud chest, even the same eye shape. Bracken wonders if he looks as much like his father as this wolf does to his.

"Ah," sighs the Fairy Queen sadly. "Brambling. I should've known. You look exactly like him."

"Yuppers," agrees Brach, stopping his ridiculous dance, falling beside his father and mimicking the pose. "This statue, it was enchanted by my mum. He protects this forest from threats. It's sort of like a memorial. See, there's even an inscription." Brach hops in front of the wolf and reads aloud the Wolfen words at the pedestal.

"_Brambling the White Wolf_

_The Wandering Warrior_

_The Father of Unborn Pups_

"_Forever shall you be remembered_

_Among those who care to seek_

_And those who need protection_

"_Your life was long and prosperous_

_Alongside Cadeliah, your Soul-Mate_

_And your death was swift and unfortunate_

"_For even now, beyond the grave,_

_You guard those of lesser power_

_The wolves will never forget_

"_Brambling the Father_

_Humbler of the Mighty_

_Who was slain by the Fairy Queen."_

An awkward silence hangs over the air like a heavy tarp. Bracken's mouth falls open. Brach tenses, white guard hairs going on end, the beginning of a deep growl rumbling in his throat. Kendra freezes beside him, eyes widened with horrified comprehension and shock. A ripple of surprise moves through most of the Fairy Queen's parade, but Ikia is not even remotely caught off guard. The Fairy Queen's face is caught on an expression of remorse, regret, and grief.

Despite what he'd just read, Brach attempts to keep his tone light.

"That's one hell of a typo, huh?"

* * *

"Cadeliah," calls Seth over the bustling wolves. Instantly, the she wolf halts and turns to him. "Can I speak to you?"

Cadeliah literally appears next to him. "Yes, of course, child. What about?"

Seth swallows. "The Fairy Queen. She's like a taboo."

Cadeliah stiffens, grief consuming her facial features for a split second, before reverting back to normal. "Not in public. There's too much malice still directed towards the Queen. Follow me, child. Or, better yet, climb on." Cadeliah lowers to the ground and offers Seth her back. Awkwardly, Seth scrambles on, unsteadily rocking atop her bony spine. Cadeliah takes off at a trotting pace, swiftly moving through the crowd.

Something strikes Seth as all of the wolves brush past Cadeliah, and he gets a better look at them. Most of the males and about half of the females have little insignias drawn on their shoulders, simple things like Native American-ish suns or a paw print or some elaborate figure. Once, Seth sees a pie on someone's flank. "What is that war-paint stuff?"

Cadeliah chuckles. "It's a way for wolves to proclaim their talents or achievements."

"Like Cutie Marks from My Little Pony?"

Cadeliah roars with laughter, spooking a smaller wolf with no tattoo. "Yes, I guess so. Most wolves, such as Sand-Heart or Fiona, have to draw theirs on. But some, such as Thunder-Bolt and Chaos, had theirs appear naturally. Sometimes, when struck by lightning, creatures get strange tattoo marks on their skin. Thunder-Bolt was struck as a pup, and he considered that a sign when he got his tattoos. He's still trying to cross the speed of light. I suppose I could help him, but that would just spoil all of the fun."

"And Chaos?" prompts Seth, interest mounting about the standoffish striped wolf with the awful scars.

"There's no real account of how Chaos received his stripes," hedges Cadeliah, gently nudging a pair of elderly wolves kindly. "However, it's a well-known fact that he was actually born white. They say that one night, the Star Wolf descended from the sky and tapped him on the nose. Where he was touched, dark grey stripes curled over his body, winding around his white fur like snakes. It's said to be where he draws his power from."

"Cool," murmurs Seth, but it sounds like complete bogus to him.

Cadeliah nods and ducks into her den. The familiar smell of sleeping bags and wolves fills the space, and light filters in through the stained glass hatch at the ceiling. Seth slumps to the ground, and Cadeliah settles into her sleeping space, circling three times before sitting down. She looks at him, sadness coloring her eyes.

"So, you wish to hear the tale of the Fairy Queen." It's not spoken as a question.

Seth nods. "Yup."

"Listen close, little pup," Cadeliah sighs. "It is a tale of sadness, of wrongdoing, of grief, and of mistakes, but also a story of heroism, of honor, of bravery, and of a fallen soldier with a coat of snow and a heart of gold."

* * *

"In the days when Zzyxz was being formed, the demon horde existed as an army. They had no clue that the Fairy King and Queen's plan was to lock them away for all of eternity inside of a massive prison. To them, it was just another war, just another war that they could get away with, thanks to the lack of Wolfen Guardians.

"I assisted greatly in the creation and magic binding together the prison, I'll have you know. It was I who first discovered how to create another realm separate from the Earth we tread upon, so the wizards required my expertise in coming up with the perfect jail. Me and my mate, Soul-Mate, Brambling.

"Yes, wolves do have Soul-Mates, young Seth. Most of the time, the lovers are doomed to have different time lines, never crossing paths but perhaps living thousands of years before their perfect match. I was lucky because of my time of immortality that I was able to find my Soul-Mate. In Wolf culture, the death of a Soul-Mate is the highest offense possible; higher than annihilating an entire species, higher than exterminating thousands of wolves, higher even then slaying defenseless pups.

"And you can see where this is going.

"Brambling was the finest of wolves; and that isn't just the talk of a lovesick puppy. He was kind and noble and courageous and gentle. Every wolf we crossed paths with thought of him fondly. He was a leader, a king without armies, and a father without pups. Even Fiona thought highly of him, and that's saying something. Bracken met him once, although I doubt he realized whom he was speaking to.

"We were herding the demon horde into Zzyxz. The unicorns required this of us. Unicorns are not one for herding; in fact, they are prone to being herded. Brambling was beside the Fairy King as his trusted companion.

"Understand this: once upon a time, the Fairy Queen and I were the best of friends, and the Fairy King and Brambling were only closer. Like brothers, Brambling would often say. But all of that changed…

"The Fairy King was fending off the Demon King. The winner was obvious, at first; in all honesty, Brambling most likely could've finished the demon off himself, if he hadn't been focused on guarding the Fairy King. It was Brambling who saw the treacherous act of Tatiana, swooping for the Fairy King's turned back; he placed himself in front of the King, fending off the onyx talons of Tatiana while the King wrestled with the Demon King. However, the Fairy King was distracted by Brambling's plight, despite my mate's ability to handle himself.

"The Fairy King turned his back on Gorgrog for one second. And that's all it takes.

"Sent sprawling by an awful blow, the Fairy King was out of commission for the battle. Enraged, Brambling scarred Tatiana's human face horribly, and drove Gorgrog and the final demons into the prison single-handedly, like a furious god. There were only a few wolves on the ridge to witness his incredible feat. I was strategizing with the Fairy Queen on the other end of the island. We knew our husbands could take care of the demons. Our duty was to figure out how to keep them there.

"Imagine my surprise as Brambling comes racing over the hill, splattered in black demon blood, yelping for assistance. Panting horribly, he stopped at the Fairy Queen's feet and described the battle, and how the King had been injured. He wasn't completely through with his tale by the time the calls began ringing over the island.

"'The Fairy King is dead! The Fairy King is dead!'

"The Queen was furious. It was natural anger, of course; I would've acted – well, no, actually, I wouldn't have, but it was a normal reaction. 'You should've been there!' she roared with fury, power pulsing through the air. I leapt to move in front of Brambling, but I was too late.

"In her rage, the Fairy Queen cut down Brambling with a single stroke, letting his blood water the place that would become her shrine. I've had time to ponder it, after all of these years, and I think he was just as hurt as her by the death of his comrade. That's why he didn't get out of the way, or attempt to parry her blow.

"Fiona had just crossed over the ridge with battle information, as she saw the Fairy Queen strike down the only one she had ever thought of as her father. In her horror, Fiona lifted her muzzle, and howled the bloodcurdling call for the begin of a Hunt.

"A Hunt, dear child, is feared by all of those who remember the times when they were used. Imagine every wolf in the world, thousands upon thousands of beasts with killer talons, razor teeth, and minds of steel, leaping for your throat, searching for you, abandoning every job or need to just kill you. Fiona called the first Hunt in centuries. And the Fairy Queen was very much afraid.

"I curled around my dead mate. His demise was so swift he hadn't even been able to go to the Ghosting stage of a wolf's death. I saw the wolves crowding around the ridge, snarling and bristling with anger, bloodlust glinting in their usually docile eyes. I saw the fury in their gazes. I saw the repentance and horror in my dear friend's eyes as I sobbed over the dead body of Brambling. I saw my daughter howl the command for attack, and I saw the wolves approach the Queen.

"And I did nothing.

"Of course, later I intervened, but not before the Fairy Queen had learned her lesson. She always wears things to hide it, but she has many scars crisscrossing her back where my fiery Fiona leapt at her in her rage. Unicorns were killed if they got in the way. There was nowhere to flee; even her Fairy Realm was penetrated. Fiona was ruthless in her revenge. To this day, I hear her murmuring tactics and things she could've done to avenge her fallen step-father.

"I got in the way of the furious wolf mob, blocking their attacks single-handedly, fending them off. Finally, Fiona called her warriors off, ending the Hunt for good. The Fairy Queen, tired and broken and bloodied, turned to me and begged for understanding, apologizing greatly for her wrongdoing. I said something that I regret to this very day.

"Turning my back on the Fairy Queen, I said, 'I spared you in memory of our past friendship, but you, you shall be the only one in all of history that I will never forgive.'

"That was the last time I saw the Fairy Queen for a thousand long years, ticking by, quiet and uneventful. I gave birth to the pups Brambling never knew he had sired, and placed aging spells on them to slow the process of their growth. At the opening of Zzyxz, I awaited the long-last return of the King of Shadows alongside a few other wolves who knew Chaos, and I recognized a peculiar sound coming off of Gorgrog. A familiar heartbeat, one I had known all of my life.

"The Fairy King was alive. How cruel can fate be?

"I, of course, remembering my friendship with the King immediately jolted into action. The first thing I did was appear in front of the Fairy Queen, and give her a mysterious look, like, 'Follow me,' and take off towards Gorgrog. To my delight, she followed. I pounced on the King's tether, nearly snapping one of the links on his chain. She looked at me in confusion, and then looked down at the aged face of her husband, worn and weary.

"And then she understood.

"I sent her one mental message; just one. It is fit that at least one of them survived. _Carry no worries, my child, for you will never cease to be my friend._

"And then I was gone, leaving the acts of Zzyxz to play themselves out. I wonder how this will impact the world. After all, it has been centuries since I've seen the Fairy Queen, and malice still rests in the hearts of the wolves."

* * *

Seth's jaw drops at the end of Cadeliah's tale. "But—but—but—I –"

Cadeliah chuckles, the sound woven with ancient grief. "Spit it out, my boy!"

"The Fairy Queen is a good guy," manages Seth with difficulty, eyes wide. "She's like an angel. A god. One of those do-gooders that get on my nerves. This doesn't sound like what I've heard of her."

Cadeliah sighs, rising and looking over her shoulder. "All of us have sins that we keep secret," she lectures tiredly, "but those who call themselves saints usually hide the most of all."

* * *

**Can I get a "Poor Cadeliah!"? Oh well I'm gonna say it: Poor Cadeliah! Poor Fiona! Poor Brach! Poor Fairy Queen! Poor everybody! And can I point something out? I will. The Fairy Queen's firm hater is Tatiana, who's already proven that she can enter and exit the sanctuary at will somehow. How do you guys think that's going to play out? **

**POLL: Who is going to add this story to their favorites, or would if they had an account? XD**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	28. Chapter 27

**Okay, first of all, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers and followers and favorite-ers. You've helped with this as much as anybody. And, people, 1,600+ views! That's incredible! I never expected my first fanfiction to get this much attention. I love all the support and wish I could show you how much I value your input on absolutely everything. Send me a PM about the things you like and dislike, or maybe an idea that you have, or how you think Cadeliah's going to save the day! Honestly, I'd love to hear it. **

**This chapter is for my readers. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

An awkward silence rings in the air as the two groups study each other. Bracken notes that Seth sits beside cloaked Chaos, and the Fablehaven Questers each stand beside a wolf, perhaps for protection, or to be diplomatically symbolic. Kendra smiles at Cadeliah, who sits in the center of the wolves. It's the first time Bracken's seen her truly act like a queen, with her ears pricked, shoulders squared, and expression haughtily vacant. Fiona sits by her side, glaring viciously at the Fairy Queen, making no attempt to hide her malice.

The groups of wolves look mostly friendly. They smile at the unicorns, and allow Bracken a chance to gauge the style of the wolves. The females appear to have rolled in metallic dust, either bronze, silver, or gold, depending on their coat type, and wear an assortment of objects: lilies blooming under their ears, colorfully braided wreathes, tail bracelets, anklets, tiaras, tattoos, cloaks; all the likes. The males are simpler in their ways: swirling tattoos on their flanks, and the occasional proud metal collar around their necks like trophies. Thunder-Soul's painted marking is a white swirl twirling up his right leg, as if vines are circling around him and casing him in their arms.

The Fairy Queen dances forward and bows lowly to Cadeliah. Bracken blinks, and follows suit. The rest of the Fairy Kingdom Dwellers slowly get to their knees, although many do not look pleased about it. Soon, the only one standing above the crowd is Brach. He chews on a rawhide bone, staring around at the crowd in indifferent bewilderment.

"Rise," proclaims Cadeliah, musical tones hinted with amusement. "Why do you bow to the Great Wolves, O Great One, when you are our equal?"

The Fairy Queen slowly straightens, blue dress swirling around her feet. Fiona chooses this moment to let out a massive yawn, which both her mother and Bracken's ignore. "I could only dream of being the equal to any wolf," replies the Fairy Queen, truth coloring each word. "You are the greater species, when compared to I, and the small civilization I struggle to maintain. I was greatly pleased when the vocals of your song drifted from your dimension to ours. I am happy that the wolves have reentered the world they fight so hard to protect, and it seemed only logical to come and forgive in person."

Cadeliah's eyes narrow. She speaks something long and garbled in a sharp tone. Bracken's mother responds in the same speech, eyeing the wolf reproachfully. Back and forth they go for a full three minutes, as if they are arguing, or perhaps persuading each other. Bracken's eyes flick from one to the other nervously, until Cadeliah suddenly breaks in English.

"The idea of creating a different realm was my plan!" she explodes. "You used my ideas!"

The Fairy Queen scoffs. "It was but a theory. I was the one who put it into reality."

"Oh, but I am so much smarter than you!" pipes up an accurate imitation of Cadeliah's voice, and Bracken pinpoints River-Song with a big smile across her face.

"You are a stupid big when compared to my intelligence!" argues Chaos in the Fairy Queen's voice. Laughter echoes around the clearing as the wolves realize what's going on. Bracken notices that the unicorns only look offended.

"Ah, it's so good to have you two back together," sighs River-Song with her own voice. "I was having a hard time figuring out who to tease at gatherings without your bickering."

"They were rather boring," agrees Chaos dryly.

Fiona snorts. "If it were up to me, I would rip her to pieces right now. I'd put her liver over there, toss her heart into those bushes, use her horns as chew-toys, mount her head on one of those spear thingies, and pluck every hair from that pretty scalp of hers." Bracken stands, his hand flying to the horn at his belt.

"It's _not_ up to you," growls Brach coldly, a silent snarl marring his handsome face.

Fiona mutters something under her breath about insolence, and just stalks through the crowd, as if the entire celebration had just lost its appeal. Sand-Heart rolls her eyes with exaggerated annoyance.

"Forgive her," apologizes Cadeliah, flicking her ears back. "The poor girl is going through a lot right now. It's taking its toll on her."

The Fairy Queen bows her head shamefully. "Fiona has every right to be cross with me."

"Well, enough with this depressing talk!" dismisses Cadeliah, shaking her head. "I have enough on my minds already. Chaos, let's get some music! For those that are unfamiliar with the layout of Wolfen parties, food that way, drinks that way, dance floor that way, which is the same place as the loitering grounds. Enjoy!"

Cadeliah rises, just as Chaos makes his way to something that looks suspiciously like a DJ booth. The King of Shadows slips on a pair of specially-fitted headphones, and begins leafing through a bunch of CDs and discs. Music pounds, a relatively modern tune, and a pretty she-wolf with bluish white fur begins singing along.

And then the dance begins.

* * *

Amazingly, the unicorns and wolves seem to be getting along alright. Bracken's eyes sweep the crowd swaying to the music underneath the emerging stars, easily spotting Kendra's beautiful figure and beaming light amongst a group of particularly stuck-up unicorns, looking absolutely miserable. The bright lights blare over the crowd obnoxiously, illuminating her face for only a few seconds at a time. Unfamiliar music booms over the speakers, not really unpleasant; it's ten times better than the 1400's.

Bracken's about to cross the mass of sweaty bodies separating him from his lovely Kendra when a cold voice sounds from behind him, making Bracken's lips curl into a snarl. "Very sexy girl you got there."

Bracken can't help the primitive growl thundering in the pit of his throat as he turns to see Charlie, reclining on the punch table like it's a throne. His greenish-gold eyes glint in the soft light, lit by the occasional flash of pink light, revealing his high cheekbones and smooth, pale skin. "Would you mind if I borrowed her, just for one night? She might find pleasure in hanging out with a real man."

Bracken manages to swallow his anger. As calmly as he can manage, he answers, "Good luck trying to get Kendra to do anything. I will pay to see you go up to her and ask that. I won't pay for the medical bill."

Charlie's grin broadens. "A concubine with _fire_. I like it."

Once again, Bracken stomachs a sharp reply, but doesn't refrain from placing every ounce of steely ice and cold determination in his voice. "Call her that again, and you'll wish you were facing Kendra."

Charlie cocks an eyebrow, but he edges away, bumping into a dark shape. Alec casts Charlie an annoyed glance and continues through the mass of sweaty and furry bodies writhing to the music. After a moment of hesitation, Charlie tails the astrid, leaving Bracken alone by the punch bowl.

His mother and a few of the more taunt of his sisters sit on a high pedestal above the crowd, next to the DJ booth. The Wolfen royals had joined them for a while, smiling at everyone that passed and engaging in lively conversations, but had trickled off after realized what sticklers Bracken's family tends to be. He can easily spot Boro's golden coat swaying next to Fiona's chocolate brown one, and can't help studying the dynamics between the two once again. They obviously both have feelings for the other, but something's getting in the way, more than harsh words or a simple breakup. Bracken wonders what that is.

_Crack_! The sound of flesh against flesh rings through the large clearing, silencing conversations. With a mischievous smile, Chaos stops the music and focuses a beam of light on the mayhem. Bracken's mouth drops open and fury alights in his chest at the same moment. The wolves laugh softly and back away from Kendra in a perfect circle.

Kendra takes a long and luxurious sip of punch, not even caring that all the attention is on her. Charlie topples to the ground, knees buckling, his entire nose crushed and leaking silver blood at Kendra's feet. Sighing with pleasure, Kendra takes the cup away from her lips and glances around, apparently just noticing that the eyes of everyone, unicorn, human, or wolf, are trained on her.

"What?" she asks defensively, green eyes flashing, light beaconing like a halo. "He touched my butt."

The words hit him a second late. Bracken cuts through the crowd, wolves backing out of his way as he moves over to Kendra. Fury overcomes him, biting and hissing like a hungry flame, and Bracken feels his aura brighten with rage. Most of the dancers split eagerly, anxious to see the next "Brackendra" moment. Their perspiring bodies smell sordid and gross, especially the furry wolves. Alec and Zia alight on the very edge of the circle, sitting on Boro's back hand in hand. Bracken chooses to ignore the astrids completely.

Bracken stalks up to Kendra. Her eyes light up like a Christmas tree at the sight of him, and she smiles in relief. The sparkling white dress is still in its best condition, thanks to the little jinx the pups had placed on the fabric, but Kendra looks fine without it. Her cheeks are flushed, and there's an undercurrent of anger in her movements, directed to the slack body on the ground. Bracken plants a quick kiss on her somewhat sweaty forehead, brushing a strand of hair from her face, and then turns to Charlie.

Sprawled on the ground, he looks innocent. Scowling, Bracken admires Kendra's handiwork. She must've punched him _hard_. Charlie's entire nose is practically crushed, smashed back into his head, and purple bruises already begin to cloud his oh-so-handsome features. Bracken chuckles despite himself as the unicorn comes round with a groan.

Clutching the rim of Charlie's silk shirt, Bracken hoists him up, looking into his foggy golden green eyes. Bracken can sense the malice boiling inside of himself, and makes no move to control it. Channeling all of his rage and pent-up fury from centuries of dealing with his taunting, Bracken swings his fist in a solid arch towards Charlie's jawbone.

The crack Bracken's blow makes is even louder than Kendra's. Charlie groans and slumps backwards, completely knocked unconscious. Bracken thought he'd felt something cave, so he lets go of the unicorn's shirt instead of punching him again, shoving him away from himself in disgust. Rising on unsteady knees, trembling with fury, Bracken straightens slowly, eyes sweeping over the crowd dramatically.

He would've been content to stand there the entire night, staring at the crowd and relaying, "Touch Kendra and you die," with his eyes. But Fiona appears from the crowd, grinning from ear to ear. She nudges Kendra a little rougher than Bracken considers playfully, but Kendra obviously doesn't care.

"And I was so worried about you not being able to handle yourself around the big boys in unicorn royalty!" she guffaws, sending conversations rippling through the crowd. Wolves and the few friendly unicorns begin to disperse, swaying once more to the beat of a song blaring from the speakers. Fiona throws her head up, joined by Boro on her left. "Oh, they grow up so fast! It seems only yesterday you were going off to meet a unicorn group, unsure and insecure! Now Kendra's all grown up! Oh, Boro, I'm going to cry!"

"There, there," comforts Boro as Fiona lays her head on his shoulder and feigns sobs. "It's okay, every bird's gotta leave the nest eventually…"

"I take offense from that," harrumphs Zia from Boro's back. Kendra and Alec both laugh.

"I now officially ship Brackendra as much as I ship Fioro," announces a new voice, and Cadeliah walks up, eye sparkling with mirth. Bracken smiles sheepishly, anger deteriorating as she eyes him respectfully. "That was quite a temper there, Bracken. Your mother and I could feel the waves of anger rolling off of you from where we sat. Consider yourself honored, Kendra."

"I do," reassures Kendra, looking at Bracken warmly. "Trust me, I do."

* * *

"Hey." Seth twists around, starting in surprise at the white owl hanging upside down from the cave ceiling, recognizing Cassandra. Her dark almond-shaped eyes blink slowly, and her head cocks abnormally.

"Hey," greets Seth. "What's up? Other than you, I mean."

She laughs, a weird sound to come from an owl's beak. "Very clever. I just wanted to apologize about earlier. Zia tries to match-make me to every guy she deems attractive. I guess that's you. So, congrats."

"Thanks," chuckles Seth. He's about to say more when a giant tremor shakes the earth, throwing him off his feet. The shivering ground makes it impossible to rise to his feet. The world tilts. Seth's eyes clog with dust. His teeth rattle, slicing into his fleshy tongue. Seth tastes blood. He hears Cassandra fall to the ground beside him, and instinctively moves to he won't accidentally crush her fragile owl bones.

Abruptly, the earthquake stops. Seth gasps for air, spitting out a bit of dark blood, turning to the shaky form of Cassandra righting herself. "What was that? Earthquake?"

Cassandra's deep black eyes turn to him, white face smudged with dirt and feathers all in disarray. One wing is bending in a place Seth knows it shouldn't, as if the fall from the ceiling had broken it. Cassandra says grimly, "Trouble."

* * *

Throughout the slow dance, they'd only been getting closer together, which doesn't bother Kendra in the slightest. It had started out at a casual distance, or as casual as slow-dancing can be, but Kendra had felt herself and Bracken drawing closer with every beat of the saddened love song. Fiona's lulling voice ululates in the background, the tune blissful and mournful at the same time.

Kendra's eyelashes brush Bracken's neck as she closes her eyes, trusting him to lead. She leans against him, savoring his warmth and the flex of battle-hardened muscles as he slowly cycles around. Her feet move sluggishly, depending on him to sweep her around. His scented breath circles through her hair, and Kendra feels him rest his chin on her head, continuing to exhale softly. Not knowing where she's going or what will happen next alarms Kendra slightly, but she trusts Bracken. At least, as much as a girl can trust an idiotic male.

All of those wonderful, blissful thoughts change suddenly as a demonic shriek pierces the floating melody of Fiona's song, and the world tremors under Kendra's feet. Her teeth rattle. Only Bracken's embrace keeps her from flopping like a fish to the floor. Her eyes snap open, and her hands fly to Cadeliah's swords.

After making sure she's safely on her feet for the earthquake sort of thing that has unicorns and a few wolves toppling, Bracken releases Kendra and draws his second horn, transforming it into a silver blade. Kendra imagines they must look pretty cool together, with the unicorn horn and the Wolfen swords.

A black shape descends from above, the shadowy figure soaring down on the Fairy Queen's platform. Bracken roars in fury as Tatiana grips his mother by her shoulders, taking the Fairy Queen by surprise and throwing her from the makeshift throne. His face alights with rage for the second time that night. He begins to race towards her, splitting through the crowd of trembling wolves. But another dark shape drops down on him, and one of the grotesque astrids pin him to the ground, and the other holds his sisters back with sweeps of his dark talons.

Kendra jolts forward, the swords filling her mind with thousands of ideas and plans of actions, providing explanations for anything and everything, ticking with brains of their own. With a roar, Kendra slashes forward, blades flashing. The swords cut through the astrid's tough flesh like butter, causing him to shriek and recoil, not releasing Bracken but giving the Fairy Prince a bit of wiggle room.

Kendra steps back warily, eyeing her opponent vigilantly. She's about to make her move when a wolf that looks suspiciously like Thunder-Soul leaps forward and shoves him away from Bracken. The wolf engages the astrid in combat, and trail off into the distance.

Bracken rises to his feet, horn held ready, but all of the sudden, the earthquake stops. Every wolf straightens and hums, a single note, and their eyes flash. With a _suck-plop_ noise, magical purple bubbles appear both around Tatiana and the Fairy Queen. The bubbles float in the air, drawing the away from each other, and revealing the form magically hoisting them airborne with one golden eye and one blue.

"My," tsks Cadeliah, Soul Stone glowing at her throat, "you two are like bickering siblings."

"Let me out!" wails Tatiana, talons glancing off of the bubble walls harmlessly. She continuously scratches at the surface, not piercing the membrane in the slightest. Finally, giving up, the owlish lady gives up, allowing Kendra her first real glance of the owl queen.

She's wearing a cloak that looks like it's made from feathery shadows, draping around her elegantly. Underneath the swirling garment the owl queen's wearing a grey jumpsuit clad with multiple daggers and potions hanging from black leather bands. The gloves covering her hands are pierced by curling claws, tipping each finger. Her face is covered by a porcelain white mask, shielding her eyes and features. Two wings sparsely coated in molting black plumage flap futilely on her back, tips of the feathers brushing the walls or her prison.

The Fairy Queen doesn't face the bubble with much more dignity, pounding on the walls, driving the longest pearly horn Kendra had ever seen against it. Each time the ivory horn connects with the walls, Cadeliah winces.

"Enough," snaps Cadeliah, her voice commanding, like the tone her mom used when Kendra had just been a kid whining about getting the newest Barbie doll. She turns to Tatiana, while Kendra's breath catches. "Explain yourself. Quickly, if you don't mind. The Cupid Shuffle is next on the playlist, and I absolutely _adore_ the Cupid Shuffle."

Kendra casts a glance at Bracken, sending him, _What do we do? _The unicorn looks at her indifferently and shrugs. _Cadeliah seems to have this covered. _

"She made me how I am!" spits Tatiana in hatred, claws raking the bubble once more. "She forced me to scrape a life out of the dark pits of hell, forced me to use the most shameful of magic to regain myself! She turned my children against me!"

"Actually, that was Alec and I," corrects Cadeliah. From somewhere in the crowd, Alec makes an "OOO-WOP OOO-WOP!" noise. Cadeliah rolls her eyes. She turns to the Fairy Queen. "And you?"

"You're being ridiculous, Cadeliah," the Fairy Queen snarls. "Perhaps this is the reason you haven't been able to keep children alive; you don't know when to stop forgiving." Brach leaps to his feet next to Kendra and snarls, making Bracken's mother hurriedly answer Cadeliah's question. "I was only protecting my kingdom from you, Tatiana. You were becoming dark and twisted. I could not permit such wickedness inside of my realm."

"Your realm," scoffs Cadeliah under her breath, before raising her voice mightily. "Both of you are at fault!" Winds stampede through the clearing, toying with Kendra's hair and swirling around Cadeliah. Her mouth falls open, and all the eyes of the wolves turn to their Soul Bearer expectantly, bowing their heads slightly in respect. Fiona appears at her mother's side, amethyst beads dangling from her tiara like a queen from a geeky movie. Cadeliah is lifted by the gales, rearing in her hovering so that her front set of paws are higher than her back.

"Tatiana," she laughs, tone echoing with sadness. The winds slow so that Kendra can hear the wolf's voice, and the heartbroken cadence makes her eyes prickle with unexpected tears. "Perhaps it was wrong of the Fairy Queen to cast you out, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should become the very thing she feared! Look at Chaos, look at Seth! Look at all the decent dark creatures, and tell me, how must you look in their eyes? How must an owl bent on revenge seem to them? You are primitive from their point of view. You are a creature ruled by your instincts. But that doesn't necessarily mean you can't change." Cadeliah's sad, sad voice is tinged with hope and love. "You can become a better man, so to speak. Just because people don't understand you doesn't mean that you're different in a bad way. To fully achieve complete happiness in life, you've got to just roll with the punches. Come what may. Haters gonna hate. Whichever you prefer. Bad times will befall upon you, Tatiana, but that doesn't mean that good times won't. So don't let the sins and rejections of others harden your heart. Soften yourself. I believe in you. You're still a child. The world still believes that you have every chance, and so do I."

Kendra's mouth drops, and the owl queen blinks in astonishment, knees crumpling. Cadeliah turns to the Fairy Queen. "Tatiana was feeling lost and alone. That's why she rebelled. She didn't want to do it, nor did she favor darkness to light. But loneliness, child, it does terrible things to the mind, and Tatiana was, _is_, so very, very lonely. Every night, I heard her croon to the moon, longing for a companion. Would it have killed you to talk to her once in a while, or find one who could? To create another female astrid for her to associate with? I know you saw her suffering and drowning in her pain, and I know you saw her falling, morals crumbling and mind caving in. I also know that you did not do a thing to stop it, but instead barricaded yourself against the possibilities. You had one child already, and another in your womb. Of course you should've been afraid! But, when we fear, we must instead branch out and learn to love the ones who frighten us, or else the terror will consume our being. Like a lovely fire, eating away at our essence. If you had reached out, if you had offered Tatiana friendship instead of a cold shoulder, I assure you that little to no lives would've been lost. But I forgive you."

Cadeliah glances from one to the other. "I understand that we all make mistakes, but I would love it if you settled this in a way other than violence. You have already upset the balance enough." And with that, both the Fairy Queen and Tatiana's bubbles pop, sending them both awkwardly sprawling across the ground. The Fairy Queen and the Owl Queen look into each other's eyes for a long moment. Kendra holds her breath, waiting to see what will happen.

Tatiana unfurls her unhealthy looking wings. For a second, Kendra's afraid she's going to attack. But then the owl queen takes to the sky, swirling up like an ethereal comet, and disappears in a starburst of orange light, like a firework going off in the night. Two other shapes, most likely her minions, follow her ascent and also explode into beautiful colors. Colors rain from above, remnants of the fiery explosion. Kendra flinches as one of the falling sparkles land on her shoulder, only to find that it's just a harmless bit of magic. The wolves all howl a few notes in perfect unison, like a farewell, and then begin dancing once more, as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

Seth leans against the cave wall, smiling despite himself. Next to him, Cassandra sleeps in a little nook in the tunnel, her soft _churr_ing snores rhythmic and constant. She cradles her injured wing as she sleeps, and Seth can't help but feel guilty about the blood streaking down her opal feathers. The stars wink above like little fairies through a crack in the ceiling.

Vanessa and Warren are a bit down the hallway, in the main den chamber. The blix had decided it might be safer if she hung back from the party filled with blix-hunting unicorns, which was probably a wise decision. Warren had volunteered to stay behind with her. Seth's a bit afraid to continue down the tunnel, in fear of what he may walk in on the couple doing.

Cadeliah pads in, looking weary. She looks at Seth, and smiles. "The citizens of the Fairy Realm are on their way. Your sister and Bracken will be joining us shortly. Hurry off to bed, Child of the Wolf. It's a big day tomorrow."

Seth shakes his head, jerking a thumb at Cassandra. "She's afraid of being alone. I promised I'd stay until Zia and Alec get here."

Cadeliah's colorful eyes are unreadable. She studies his face, and a longing expression settles over her. Finally, she shakes her head and sighs. When the she wolf speaks again, her voice quavers more than once.

"Oh, poor Seth. You poor, poor boy. Everyone is a child inside, always learning, but you are but a novice, and an innocent at that. I want you to remember this one thing, poor boy." Seth raises his eyebrows, looking at Cadeliah expectantly. Cadeliah shakes her head and refuses to meet his eyes.

"It's a kindness to end the lives of the infected, Seth. That's the worst part. They're still alive, they can still feel what they're doing. They know what they do as they do it, and yet they can't stop it. And it horrifies them. Who wouldn't be horrified as you feel yourself latch onto the throat of a son? Many of them would try to kill themselves if they could. But they can't. It's the disease's curse. It's a kindness to release them from their pelts, Seth, while the spirit is still freshly imprinted on the body. So do not be afraid to kill them when they come cackling for your blood, because they will thank you, poor boy. They will thank you even as you skin all seven of their hides from their bodies. I know I will."

* * *

**Well. Now Cadeliah's coming clean. This really is some time to spill all this, hun. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm not getting any PMs, so if you don't mind, send me one! I'd love to hear all that you've got to say! **

**POLL: Even though Cassandra and Seth are not going to get together that I plan on writing, do you like the building friendship between the two? Is it worthwhile? Please review!**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	29. Chapter 28

**Sorry for the wait! I've been weighed down with homework, so the only time I can fit in some writing is when I'm procrastinating. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm going to go out and say it: there's only, like, two more chapters until the big BOOM, so be patient! Be a Cadeliah, not a Fiona! **

**This chapter, we're going to have a bit of interaction between Flash-Foot and Brach, Thunder-Bolt and Seth, and Boro and Bracken. Please review, and annoy! **

**LINE BREAK**

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Seth yawns. The morning sun sparkles over the blackened rocky crags and crisp white snow, with a picture-perfect effect to the landscape. On the distant skyline, Seth can already glimpse the wolves playing and dancing and singing praise to his name. He can see what they call a circle dance, hundreds of wolves moving in perfect synchronization to Irish sounding music, swirling and leaping over each other like a reel. Closer than that, there's a pair of dragons (yes, _dragons_!) relaxing atop a rocky peak, the sunlight glinting off their metallic scales.

Seth leans back. Cadeliah's den is located at the base of a cliff, a spindly cliff, the tallest around, that the she wolf often broods upon. Tilting his head back, Seth can't quite see the Soul Bearer. He'd been up there once. It's a long, hard climb up the dangerous spire, easy for wolves to scale but a little scary for Seth. The view had been absolutely _fabulous_, and the winter air unrivaled. But Seth respects Cadeliah's personal thinking space, and decides not to make the treacherous climb.

"Hey." Seth twists, turning to River-Song's cobalt eyes. She lands gracefully in front of him, folding her fairy wings somehow and baring her teeth in a way of greeting.

"Sup?" he laughs. Her eyes blaze, and an eyebrow raises.

"Well, you tell me," she sighs. "Where's Cadeliah?"

Seth shrugs. Quickly, he decides not to indulge on the Soul Bearer's secret, even if he's not really sure how River-Song could've missed the wolf sitting at the top of the cliff, but he doesn't question. "I dunno. Try inside. But don't wake anyone up."

River-Song harrumphs and ducks inside the den entrance, shooting him an irritated glance. Brach files out soon after, glancing behind himself fearfully. His pinkish orange wings look like they need to be ironed, crisscrossed with multiple wrinkles and creases. Brach shakes, and they sort of flatten. He nods respectfully at Seth once, before lifting off. Seth notes that his flight is smoother than it was yesterday as he zips off, lost among the clouds.

Seth rocks back on his heels, closing his eyes and cherishing the morning sun lapping at his face. Turning his palms up, Seth harnesses his internal energy in the way Chaos had taught him, envisioning a fishhook to snarl his power and cast it outward. Opening his eyes, Seth admires the fruit of his labor: a small glowing light, like the kind Bracken makes all the time, billowing with blue fog.

Seth smiles, touching the fragile orb once. The fog bounces away from his fingertips, rebounding off his skin. Then Seth extends his hand to the sky, allowing the orb to float away lazily. He watches it swirl through the clouds and disappear into the sky.

"Cool light thingamabob." Seth jumps and twirls around to see Thunder-Bolt balancing on one of the pegs in the side of Cadeliah's cliff. Gripping his back with tiny puppy claws is Flash-Foot, the pup's grey tail already wagging.

"Hey, Flash-Foot," laughs Seth. "Hey, Thunder-Bolt. What you guys doing here?"

Flash-Foot leaps from his adoptive father's shoulders, landing with practiced grace in front of Seth. His big blue eyes turn up to Seth. The pup is now up to Seth's waist, and solid muscle all the way through; he's a bit like a buff husky. "I'm here to say hi to Jhama and Kendra and Yetta and Brach and Fiona and you and Bracken and Warren and Mara and Tanu and –"

"He gets the point, squirt," chuckles Thunder-Bolt, landing beside Flash-Foot with exaggerated flexibility. Despite the wolf's raucous dismissal, Seth can see the unhindered love shining in his eyes as he looks at his son. It makes Seth wonder if his dad ever looks at him that way when he isn't watching.

"Say," offers Thunder-Bolt, "how 'bout you charge in there and wake everybody up? I bet they just can't wait to see your face bright and early!"

Flash-Foot giggles evilly, eyes sparkling, and darts through the cave hole. Seth rolls his eyes, but smiles. He can't help but remember when his life was like that: fun and games, just pranks and jokes, always with a bigger bed to crawl into if the monsters underneath his bed became too scary.

"Hey, kiddo, how are you doing?" asks Thunder-Bolt, ears flattening. The yellow wolf looks genuinely concerned for Seth's well-being as he takes a step forward, gazing down at him with the same fatherly eyes. "You seem sick to your stomach. Do I need to escort you to a bucket?"

Seth breathes out slowly, and everything comes crashing down on him again. "Have you ever…?" Thunder-Bolt cocks his head and flops down in the snow, looking up at Seth expectantly. Seth shakes his head. "Have you ever had a job, or a destiny, that you knew was wrong and terrible and evil? Ever had a duty that if you don't do it, your life and possibly the lives of others would be taken?"

Thunder-Bolt nods slowly. "I know what you mean, yes."

"I'm going through that," sighs Seth wearily. "I have a feeling I'm going to find out what my destiny or whatever is very soon, and I also have a feeling I'm not going to like it one bit."

Thunder-Bolt looks at Seth for a long time. "What you really need," chuckles the yellow wolf, "is some advice from someone who doesn't speak Zen. Kid, the future's out there, and most of it is probably nasty. But if you let that rule your life, if you succumb to your fate… that's the real reason people are condemned. I advise charging into the future headlong, and making your own destiny. Don't listen to any crinkling Singing Sisters or a depressed Soul Bearer. Listen to this." Thunder-Soul places one wet paw on Seth's chest, over his heart. "Nobody can make your future except for you."

After a moment of hesitation, Seth smiles. "I will."

"Good boy," praises Thunder-Bolt. His face splits into a devilish grin. "Now, kid, you wanna have some fun?"

Seth cocks an eyebrow. "What sort of fun?"

Thunder-Bolt's grin broadens. "Ever gone past the speed of sound before?"

LINE BREAK

Bracken opens his eyes to glimpse a pink sun burning overhead. He frowns, then realizes that he must be dreaming. Red grass tickles his arms as he rises, and he catches the crisp beauty of white snow capping scarlet mountains. Trees will golden trunks and gleaming copper leaves pool in a valley a few miles away, the bright glitter of the metallic colors visible even from a distance.

"Ah, good, you're up." Bracken swivels around to see Boro, resting on a silver rock. His lavender eyes seem to smolder like the sun overhead, and his fur sparkles like golden rain. Bracken jumps.

"How—no, let me." Bracken's eyes narrow, and he studies the wolf. "Purple is the color of thoughts, of dreams, of spirits and souls – is it a hereditary trait, passed from royalty to royalty? The ability to dream-walk? Am I remotely close?"

Boro looks surprised. "You're smarter than you let on. It's actually even called dream-walking. It means that I don't actually have dreams of my own; I just get sort of plopped down in someone of significance to me and their dream becomes mine. Of course, with a bit of focus, I can hop between dreams, but it's dangerous to do so near Cadeliah."

Bracken is instantly interested. "How so?"

Boro shrugs, wolf shoulders rolling. "I'm not aware of whose dream I jump into, only that they've got to be close by. Cadeliah has an amazing mind, which means vivid and complex dreams. You don't wanna wander into her mind. Normal brains, no matter what species, just aren't cut out for her level of thought. I accidently intruded once, and I was bed-ridden for a week. Nasty stuff."

Bracken ponders that for a second. "So that's why Kendra acted like she'd seen you before."

Boro nods, golden fur rippling. "Yup," he agrees. "Also, I've been in a couple of your dreams. I don't usually go up to the dreamer and talk to them, because I'm sort of invading on their personal privacy. However, I do not mind talking to you this once. Tons of fun, when you're aware that you're dreaming."

"Huh." Bracken frowns and looks around. "I guess that's cool."

Boro grins. "You don't know the half of it."

LINE BREAK

Bracken is so funny when he sleeps. Kendra smiles at the sleeping unicorn's drooling face, unable to hide her amusement. His tousled hair is tangled in complete disarray. His mouth lolls open, and snores rock his body. He's so peaceful that way. Kendra curls up in a ball, watching his face, sipping luxuriously from a grey ceramic mug, savoring the herbal flavor of Cadeliah's hot tea.

River-Song slinks in, taking one look at Kendra and then another at Bracken, and stalks silently through the room. Brach inches around her, carefully giving the other Fairy Wolf a three-foot radius. He ducks through the exit, glancing behind himself nervously. River-Song doesn't even look at him, padding out through the back entrance. Kendra waves half-heartedly. Bracken lets out a particularly shaky snore, drawing her attention once more.

So tranquil, so handsome, so tired. Kendra sets down the mug against the stone floor with a clang, and curls up again. She links her arms around her knees and peers at him, watching Bracken. In one way, she feels like a Cullen-Stalker. In another, she's glad that she's able to see her unicorn truly serene. Bracken always seems sad or tired or pressured or diplomatic or anxious or depressed or angry or just done with the world. As weird as she feels admitting it, Bracken sleeping is truly how a unicorn should be: tranquil, relaxed, calm, and so very, very innocent.

Flash-Foot tumbles through the entrance with a wild squeal. Bracken awakens with an ungraceful snort, and the mystical moment is over. The little guy takes a great flying leap for Bracken's face, and begins covering his groggy morning face with tons of licks and kisses, giggling over and over again, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Kendra laughs. "Welcome back, Bracken."

LINE BREAK

Cadeliah watches as the sun sets, as Thunder-Bolt and Seth trail tiredly back from the den after a long day of running over the speed of sound, as the wolves begin dancing and singing halleluiahs, still caught in a frenzy of rejoicing within their new pelts, and as another day ticks past.

There goes the fourth day. Tick, tick, tick.

The third day is dawning. God bless the poor souls. The third day has come at last.

Shutting her eyes, Cadeliah whispers, "Oh, Sisters, help me. I don't want to die. I do not want to die."

LINE BREAK

The sunlight pours over Brach. He closes his eyes and breathes in a deep whiff, puzzling over the sour scent tainting the fragrant wind. Fanning the air with breezy flaps, he suns out his wings. The morning light filtering through the wings is colored as it casts along the snow. The pinkish orange shadows dance with every slight movement. The soft wheeze of the grey pup curled up beside him exhaling and inhaling echo his own breathing.

Flash-Foot slumbers peacefully, in an innocent manner that makes Brach envious. Once, he was a pup, too. Once, he didn't have a care in the world. Once, all he knew was love and happiness and singing and cheery laughter. But then he grew up. Then life happened.

Brach sits upon an icy ledge, one with some snow coating the ground and an old twisting tree with shivering red leaves growing from the rocky dirt. The melted water trickles down the stone like a small creek, babbling softly, creating a melody to accompany Brach's thoughts. The high altitude doesn't affect Brach like it does some to some of the other wolves. Instead of feeling light-headed, he feels like his heart is truly full and his soul content, as if he's really, truly living for the first time. The height doesn't bother Flash-Foot, either; the pup was born in the Himalayas, and you can't go much higher than that. The clouds blanket the earth far below, stretching on the horizon, flawless except for the occasional astrid or Fairy Wolf dancing through the heavens.

River-Song gracefully twirls high above, using her delicate wings like spades to slice through the currents. She'd taught Brach a few of her secrets, showing him the meaning of the gold strips lining his wings. Turns out, the hard metal-like substance is made for cutting through the wind, like the supporter beams on kites. She'd taught him how to glide and how to dive, and even how to spin. She'd taught him to bare his teeth. She'd taught him to grasp something in his talons as he flew, something heavy, and taught him to hold riders on his back. Kendra had been the test subject. Brach's never seen the girl happier.

With a big yawn, Flash-Foot awakens. Brach glances down at the guy, and smiles. "Hey, little dude. Hope I didn't wake you."

Flash-Foot grins and smiles. "Nah. Oh, are we here?" The pup scrambles up to the very edge of the slab, leaning precariously to gaze out upon the sky's beauty. Any other wolf would've ushered Flash-Foot away, but Brach knows that he'll be able to catch the pup if he falls. If he does take a tumble, he'll learn for himself instead of from the words of others.

Brach rises, and joins Flash-Foot. "Yup. You fell asleep on the way up. Cool view, right?"

"Embrace the Heavens," murmurs Flash-Foot, eyes admiring the scenery. "I never understood why this preserve was called that until now. It makes sense. You could just practically hug the clouds."

"Popular suicide location, as I understand it," grunts Brach.

Flash-Foot looks at him. "What?"

Brach notices his slip, and hurries to cover it up. "Oh, ah, nothing. Did you know it was my mum who named this place?"

Flash-Foot's eyes widen. "Really?"

Brach nods, remembering when Cadeliah had first told him on a starry night. "She gets a similar view from her cliff, you know. That was where she was raised, and where she decided what to call the sanctuary, right after her first Time Trance. It was right after her mother had died, and she got that golden eye. Her father, the Soul Bearer before her, was the only wolf in the area. The den I sleep in was the very one Cadeliah grew up in, and her lab the same that was nearly torn to bits by her mother's experiments. In his grief, my mum's father decided to erect a sanctuary for all wolves in his mate's honor, someplace where everyone could come for an escape of life's tortures. He let my mom name it. Caelum Amplexu. Latin for 'Embrace the Heavens,' even though Latin wasn't even around yet. Cool, right?"

Flash-Foot's head bounces in an ecstatic nod. He gazes out over the clouds. "What do you think it was like?" he asks quietly, almost as if he doesn't want an answer. "Before this awful time? When the Great Wolves were the guardians, and when everybody laughed and danced and played and didn't have a care in the world? When everyone could wake up and not wonder if this day was to be their last?"

Brach thinks about that for a second. "It sounds boring."

Flash-Foot is stunned for a moment. Then he laughs, surprised. "I've never thought of it that way before."

Brach looks down at the small pup and smiles. "Then maybe you'd better start thinking of everything that way."

LINE BREAK

Kendra leans back into Bracken, humming with pleasure. His strong arms twine around her waist, and the unicorn buries his head into her hair, breathing deeply, as if she smells like something _other_ than sweat and wet dog. The firelight flickers, casting ghastly shadows on the faces of the surrounding wolves.

The entire Peaks Clan had gathered here to listen to Cadeliah's storytelling, cuddling against each other and huddling as close to the fires spotted throughout the circular clearing as possible. Their eyes glow in the darkness, reflecting the light cast from the flickering flames. On the distant ridge, Kendra can just make out the form of Brach, his pinkish eyes shining and his wings staining the moonlight filtering through. Thunder-Soul and the bitter Council hug closer to the main fire, sticking close to the roaring blaze. The tongues of the center fire stretch into the night like devilish fingers clawing for the stars.

An eerie thrum settles in the throats of all of the wolves surrounding Kendra, causing her to jump in Bracken's grip. They all straighten and turn to the north, bowing their heads and closing their reflective eyes respectfully to the figure outlined by silver starlight. Suddenly, the only glows are the ones cast off from the fairies floating high above and the blue and gold eyes of Cadeliah.

Like a ghost she storms through the mass, just a brownish shadow, differentiated from the crowd of wolves only by her luminescent eyes and a strange halo of purple mist encircling her head. She stalks past Kendra and Seth and Chaos without glancing down, tail held high and simply oozing in superiority.

Cadeliah walks up to the fire, and it mellows underneath her gaze. A tendril of fog wraps throughout the clearing, snaking between wolves and ambling gradually towards Cadeliah. Kendra flinches as it coils underneath her chin, brushing her skin with an icy touch. On instinct, she bares her teeth and hisses like a cat at it. She swears it seems to chuckle as it retreats.

Finally, the fog curls around Cadeliah's paws like an obedient puppy, awaiting any order. Cadeliah doesn't even acknowledge its presence, but lifts her head and begins to speak.

"Imagine two siblings," she booms, her voice rolling over the wolves like a tidal wave. They all raise their heads and open their eyes expectantly and the fog writhes in the air like a beheaded snake. Kendra's eyes widen as it forms a sun and a moon.

"There are always two," rumbles Cadeliah. "A brother, born of the moon and the stars glittering in the dark night, whose power has no equal." The moon burns, flashing with shades of blue and purple and silver, growing large and hovering over the crowds. "And an older sister, one who follows the path of light and sun and sky. When together, their power is the greatest energy this world has ever seen." The sun had hovered and shone as the sister had been announced, causing Bracken to tighten his grip around Kendra, but now both objects disperse into the wind, fanning along the ground in a thin layer of mist.

"Scattered across time," intones Cadeliah, head sweeping spectrally from side to side as she gazes at the pups, "these two siblings have always been our saviors and our guardians, helping us with our duties as the world's protectors, and passing on the title to another pair of adventurers." The mist swirls up to Cadeliah, twining around her legs and forming a pair of elegant misty wings. "But we shan't focus on the millions of them all. No indeed. We need only focus upon the moon and sun, the original brother and sister."

The moon and sun form once more, except the round spheres change form into the vague outlines of a man and a woman with the heads of wolves. Kendra's eyebrows shoot up, noticing that the sun is a man and the woman is a moon, but they fade as soon as they're formed. The sun becomes a golden sparkle, and the moon a bluish blur. They make a sort of ying-yang above the fire, cycling slowly.

"In the Beginning, there was day, and there was night. It could be called balance, I suppose, but it was not." Cadeliah's voice goes from mystical to cheerfully thoughtful in a split second. "I mean, some people like their ice cream with chocolate syrup and others with caramel syrup, but does that mean that it's always one or the other? Nope. For perfect harmony, you need a buffer, something in between."

Cadeliah peers around the group, the fire slowly dying behind her, voice returning to its creepy chords. "Unrest grew among the people of the world. Imagine a place with dark and light" – the mist becomes a spectral skeletal horse and a beautiful unicorn – "with good and evil" – this time, a noble king hefting a sword and a tricky woman with rat-like teeth visible even in the mist – "with danger and safety, but _nothing_ in between. One or the other, balancing on the blade of a knife, falling in either direction. Right or wrong, no maybes."

Cadeliah chuckles, and the mist curls around her neck like a kitten, returning to its tendril form. "To some, it may sound like a better world than the one you and I dwell upon, but it was a dreadful place of finality and no second chances. The sun and the moon realized this, and put their heads together, you may say, on an _eclipse_." The fire blazes on the word eclipse, warming Kendra's cheeks with uncomfortable heat even at the distance.

"The inhabitants of the world were astounded to see both a moon and a sun sharing the same sky, two opposites coming together. Confiding with one another, the sun and the moon decided, after much argument and debate, an in between must be set, as well as guardians to keep the balance of the opposites in check.

"Taking their problems to the mother of our world" – the fog races away, greatening in size, swelling to the gigantic mass of a huge red dragon with blazing eyes and a hazy figure – "the moon and the sun begged our queen for a savoir other than themselves, for a dawn and a dusk to every day." The blue and gold figures kneel in front of the huge red dragon hovering above the fire, moving their clawed hands in elaborate gestures.

"The first time, the queen rejected." The entire image faded to dust, crumbling into the flames, each particle creating a hissing noise as it's thrown into the hungry coils. "The same with the second. But on the third eclipse and the third attempt, the queen listened, and granted one of their requests."

A light emerges from the flame, swirling with familiar white fog. Kendra's eyes widen as Cadeliah's voice gathers volume.

"Choices!" trumpets the Soul Bearer, rearing up on her hind legs and causing the fire behind her to boil. The light burns Kendra's eyes, and her hair whips wildly in the winds stampeding through the clearing. "Brilliant choices emerged from the third eclipse! The people of the world were astonished, and reveled in their new freedom! Heartbreak and insecurity and possibilities and uncertainties and confusion and everything random in their possession! It was beautiful!"

The white fog orb glares for a few seconds after her ominous message, but it abruptly fades. "As we all know, though, from heaven can come hell." Figures appear, dancing and fighting and chasing and running and screaming and one poor girlish figure being attacked by a bunch of ruddy men, stampeding and brawling and doing everything imaginable. "In the euphoria, chaos rose. Not the wolf. Discord and unhappiness ruled like a tyrant, gripping the land bitterly. Dawn and Dusk was a time of commotion and disorder. Both light and dark creatures would riot and 'party'. Life itself lost its meaning."

Kendra's eyes follow everything, darting around to see the mass of creatures rebelling, slowly becoming wilder and wilder. The shadowy horse she'd seen earlier appears right in front of her and rears, making a weird roaring noise. Bracken's arms tighten comfortingly around her, and the horse charges, winding through the crowd. The wolves don't seem the least bit startled, not even the youngest pups. In fact, they all seem at ease with the apparitions. Chaos actually rears up on his hind legs and begins waltzing with some satyrs.

By the fire, Kendra sees Cadeliah distinctively frown and cock her head. "Actually, now that I come to think of it, I'm pretty sure there was a future version of Bracken there as well" – a glowing figure poofs into existence, shining brighter than anyone else, one with a familiar build and a casual wave – "and that he was chasing a future version of Kendra" – with a gasp, Kendra sees a slightly taller version of herself in coppery fog with two green dots for eyes, doing a ridiculous dance – "because Kendra had somehow stolen his third horn and turned Christopher Columbus into a parrot." A silvery horn appears in the figure's hand and a red bird perches on her shoulder. "This means not only can Kendra time travel, but she can also in the future turn people into birds and takes great pleasure in stealing Bracken's third horn. They probably only added to the confusion."

What bothers Kendra is not the fact that she can time travel or that she steals Bracken's horn or that she turns Christopher Columbus into a parrot. "I do not dance like that!" she protests, a bit louder than she'd meant to.

"Stole Bracken's horn," repeats Bracken tonelessly, but he seems more amused than cross to Kendra.

"Sweet," laughs Warren from somewhere.

Cadeliah's eyes twinkle. "I expect you to travel back in time to tonight to tell me how you stole Bracken's horn. And time travel. You must've –"

"CADELIAH!" chorus a bunch of pups impatiently.

"Oh. Oh, yes." The figures of Kendra and Bracken and Christopher Columbus disappear as Cadeliah squares her shoulders and regains the mysterious aura. "And then, born amongst the chaos and unruliness, rising from the turmoil, came the first two wolves."

All of the mist images freeze, and two life-size wolves step from the fire, gazing around the clearing before lifting their muzzles and howling. Kendra's skin crawls at the sound of the savage keens, nothing alike the beautiful songs of the Great Wolves, but resembling the wild wolves. The sound of the howls sends a pulse through the air, turning everything into fine dust or ash or something. Kendra wrinkles her nose and brushes the grey powder off her shoulder.

"These two wolves were Balance and Harmony; I know, the queen has a real thing for names. She just can't get enough of Captain Obvious titles." Cadeliah snorts. "But I suppose it's better than 'God'. My heavens, what were they thinking? Anyway, the two original wolves laid down the path, returning discipline to the hectic land, but only so much. They kept the world in line and walked amongst the people as their equals. For each of the Earth-dwellers knew that, even though the wolves may look like the normal animals, they were everything but ordinary."

Cadeliah peers around the group. "We were designed, each of us, by the mother for a specific duty in the universe, and one task above all others: protect the balance. It is why we are physically superior, but we must understand the meaning of Balance and Harmony, our forefather and foremother. We must truly bind ourselves together and learn to love everything with a heartbeat and everything without one. We must learn to care unconditionally." The two wolves back into the fire, engulfed by the ravenous flames. "If we do not learn this, then the world will fall back into discord, and everything we know will fall with it. Now, who wants punch?"

LINE BREAK

Fiona sits by her mother, sharing warmth atop the bitter cold peak. "Pretty night tonight."

The wind races through the air, carrying bitter fragments of frost into Fiona's eyes. The moonlight shines over the land, illuminating the silvery gleam of the snow along the ridges like an old grey cat basking in the light. Stars dance overhead, shining through the thin layer of clouds.

Cadeliah nods distractedly, eyes scanning the distant horizon. They linger on the woodlands in the distance, as if she can detect a threat coming from that direction. "It is very beautiful, indeed."

Fiona shifts uncomfortably. "That was a pretty inspiring speech you told this evening. I wanted to get up and start – well, no, it wouldn't be a riot, but the _opposite_ of a riot."

Cadeliah shoots Fiona a cheerful look. "Was it really? I hate being so melodramatic. I feel so… religious. But I wanted to imprint on their minds."

"You looked like a god," appraises Fiona. "A storyteller fit for a king. Which reminds me. Not that I'm really complaining, but why did you send Boro home earlier today?"

Cadeliah's eyes become agonized. Her anguished gaze sweeps over to focus on the trees. She doesn't answer directly, but it still sends shivers through Fiona's spine. "The second day, my child. Can't you hear it? The silent peals of the midnight bell, ringing in the night. The second day has arrived."

LINE BREAK

**Sorry for yet another dramatic chapter! If you have any questions, send me a PM and I can assure you'll get an answer! Shoot me a review, and you'll probably get a response, but not until I update again and include your answer. **

**And Cadeliah is being annoyingly mysterious again. I don't know how Fiona has the patience. I would so be out of there, like, "Another mysterious quote? Screw you, I'm living with Sand-Heart!" **

**Actually, that's a good line…**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Little addition to time travel in there. Boy, I love to type! I love getting reviews, I love hearing what you have to say, so keep in contact! **

**POLL: what do you think is going to happen? How do you think Cadeliah is going to get Seth his hides? Give it your best shot, just understand that if you get it right, I won't allow your review to be posted, because, hello, spoilers! I will give you a shout-out, though!**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	30. Chapter 29

***insert 20****th**** Century Fox music here***

* * *

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

"They're called Fire-Flies." Kendra wheels around to see Thunder-Soul, the wise and generous leader of Peaks Clan leaning against the gnarled tree at the edge of her little clearing.

Kendra laughs breezily and restarts her heart. "Oh, hey. I didn't see you there."

Thunder-Soul rises wearily, and pads over to Kendra with an undeniable elegance in every step. His grey eyes are so tired that Kendra's heart tugs painfully. It's as if his bones have suddenly become the fragile limbs of an elderly wolf, and his seasoned mind had weakened within hours. "The fairies. The ones up there? They're called Fire-Flies."

Kendra peers up at the sky, watching the glowing specks gather and drift through the air, the indifferent women, and one _man_ fairy. "Why are they different?"

Thunder-Soul chuckles, looking at Kendra. "Such a young thing. You only know what your family and the Fairy Queen has told you. You must learn to expand your horizons. The Fairy Queen was the founder of fairydom, but not all of the fairies wanted to be ruled. Fire-Flies are fairies that didn't convert to fairydom, but retained their independence. Both sides have ups and downs. The Fairy Queen protects you, but, on the downside, you lose most of your purpose and power. No matter what you believe, the Fire-Flies are amazing to watch."

"Cool," murmurs Kendra, eyes trailing the male fairy again. "A lot has changed since I've come here. My entire perception on the world has been shaken."

"Cadeliah does that to people," says Thunder-Soul, nodding to himself. "And the entire world is about to change for everyone else, too. I hear Cadeliah plans to remove her disbelief spell in 2020. It makes sense, too. She put it there in her last moments with the Soul Stone to protect the magical races from humanity's savagery. It should wear off naturally eventually, but she wants it to come down sooner. Cadeliah has so many plans on how to curb humankind. Don't take this the wrong way. She's planning on cutting your species down to size, as much as she adores your peoples, in order to make room for the other emerging creatures. We're going to have to work on keeping the dragons in check, as well as the demons. But such is life. I wish I could help."

Kendra glances sideways at him. "Can't you?"

Thunder-Soul shakes his head. "Last night, I interrupted one of Cadeliah's Time Trances, and was mentally sucked in. I know how I will end. I will end in blood, not in glory."

Kendra opens her mouth to protest, but something distracts her. A wet pile of beige mush lands in her lap, causing her to recoil. A pink and orange plastic bowl falls shortly afterwards, clapping against her knee and sending a shot of pain up her leg.

"Ow!" complains Kendra. "And ew!"

"It's just porridge," chuckles Thunder-Soul, licking up some of it from her lap. His huge tongue tickles uncomfortably as it licks up most of the cream-colored mess.

"Why did porridge just fall on my lap?" demands Kendra, lifting the smooth bowl questioningly.

"When Cadeliah survived the time vortex as a pup, she became a disturbance, a ripple in time. Like when you through a rock through a windshield. Originally, there may only be a few cracks, but as the days stretch by, those fractures grow, and more things slip between the shards. Things from all across time will just fall out of the sky around her, especially recently. Porridge isn't that bad. Yesterday, I got clobbered by a baby whale."

Kendra stars at him. "You're kidding." Thunder-Soul doesn't answer, but looks her in the eye. "You aren't kidding? Wow. I never thought getting hit by porridge would be considered better."

Thunder-Soul chuckles. "I guess we know where the Three Little Bears' breakfast went. I always knew that there was something fishy about that fairytale…"

* * *

Thunder-Bolt peers in confusion at Cadeliah. The brown wolf looks distressed, a bit like a tiny kitten left in the rain, all alone. "Hey, Cadeliah, what are you –"

Cadeliah pushes past him and into the small den. Thunder-Bolt whips around in protest, but she's already nudging Sand-Heart and his son to their feet.

_His son_. Those words still send a cascade of warmth through him. But he firmly growls and lowers his head in a threat. "Cadeliah, what are you doing?"

"You must leave!" she insists, yanking around to face him, eyes ablaze with genuine terror. Thunder-Soul takes in her rumpled state and raving eyes with concern. "There is something coming, something brutal! Something that will raze this civilization to the ground! I cannot send many away, but I can send you, and God bless the rest of us…"

"What is coming?" demands Sand-Heart. "What are we running from?"

Cadeliah ignores her, and continues talking like a madwoman to Thunder-Bolt. "You keep trying to pass the speed of light, but you keep failing. Why? Because you try to elongate your strides, like an arrow slicing through the air. That's not what you should do. Short, brief strides, and head tucked close to the chest. A shield, buffering the winds and pushing through, not an arrow cutting through. You won't get it on your first trip, or on your second, but on your third, you will pass the speed of light. To slow, simply run in circles, gradually elongating your strides until you're at the speed of sound simply. I warn you: do not go back into the preserve a fourth time, you will not return. Go, go, go!"

"What?" yelps Thunder-Bolt, but Cadeliah's already placed Flash-Foot on his back. She stares into the pup's frightened eyes as comfortingly as possible.

"My little, little Flash-Foot," she croons. "Remember that I love you, my dear. I have a job for you. Can you help me?" Flash-Foot nods erratically. "You have to tell me poor daughters how much I love them. They'll be too young. They'll grow up hearing stories about their mum, and about how she sacrificed herself to save the lives of many, but they'll blame me for abandoning them in this cruel, cruel world. It'll be your job to tell them how much I love them. I will always watch over them; a mother's curse, you could say. My spirit cannot move on until I have truly protected all of my children, so I will be there. And it will be your job to remind them of that. By the way, I totally ship you and Jhama. Talk about cute couples! But can you do this for me?"

Flash-Foot nods, but he's sad now. "I will, Cadeliah. I'll never forget you."

Cadeliah nuzzles Flash-Foot one last time, and breaks away, staring at the family with something remarkably akin to love. "Good luck, all of you!" she calls as Thunder-Bolt and Sand-Heart duck out of the den, exchanging uncertain glances. "And don't stop until you've reached the border! Goodbye, you poor souls!"

* * *

Zia coasts along the air currents, the wind massaging her feathers. The clouds filter through her outstretched fingers, cool and damp. Far below, the rocky terrain of the Peaks Clan territory fade into lush emerald trees. Above her, the silent wingbeats of Alec stir the air. The astrid moves like a ghost between the clouds, a dark angel without a sound. His flying in unequaled, despite Zia's studious efforts to learn.

A putrid scent rolls over Zia, almost causing her to gag. Peering down, she searches for the source of the rotting flesh and spoiling blood odor.

They don't speak. Zia and Alec have been together so long that they don't need to communicate vocally. The way Alec banks, the way he holds his hands as he flies, the expression on his face, and the way he intently studies the ground tells her that he's smelled it, too, and is also looking for something. By some unspoken agreement, they both begin to circle lower over a bare patch, and Zia makes a small noise of pity in the pit of her throat.

"Oh my god," breathes Alec, the wind raking through his dark locks. "This is hell."

"That's only a pup," whispers Zia, voice quavering. "Just a pup."

"I've seen this before," growls Alec grimly. Zia looks at him, yellow eyes wide in a question. "The Titanium Plague has returned. We'd better tell Cadeliah."

* * *

"You're _what_?" explodes Seth, anger brimming.

"Leaving," repeats Chaos wearily. Seth feels a bit bad about the tiredness in his voice, but the furious adrenaline makes him act rashly.

"So this is who Chaos really is!" roars Seth in a rage. "Not some wolf who'd lay down his life for the protection of others, but a coward who runs from a fortune teller's prophecy!"

Chaos closes his eyes and growls, mist billowing around his feet, but he doesn't deny it. That only makes Seth madder. "You know what?" he hisses. "I was actually beginning to look up to you. I thought I could trust you. I thought you were someone I could lean on. I thought –" Seth chokes on redundant tears. "Fine! Run, little wolf, run! Run from the monsters! And don't ever look back! I don't want to see your face again! EVER!"

Chaos looks as if he's been slapped. The wolf rises to his feet, and a tear slips down his cheek. Seth is stunned as the King of Shadows shoots him one last mournful glance, and obeys his command, fading into the shadows and not looking back once.

* * *

Brach chews on a bone, eyeing the rest of the world thoughtfully. She wolves chatter and twitch their tails in way that they consider sexy, twitching their ears and shooting him suggestive glances. Every time he catches one smirking naughtily at him, Brach sends with his eyes, "Are you a pig?" It makes them back off.

What had his mum said? Oh, yes. He's handsome and strong and kind and loving and protective and a bunch of other stuff, and the females think that he'd make a good dad for pups, so they're attracted to him. But at the same time, at one point in time, they'd probably pup-sat him, so they have some conflicted emotions. Brach wishes they'd just leave him alone.

Brach's ears prick three seconds before the females', honing in on the sound before they even know it exists. He focuses on the rhythm of hooves, and turns his head to their direction just as the she wolves notice it.

A La-Heng stag races over the hill, golden hooves glancing off the rock elegantly, white fur stained with sweat and antlers held defensively. In quick pursuit are three other males, so obviously herding the buck towards the females it physically hurts Brach. They're too far, though, to do anything but chase it on through. He might as well show his stuff.

A La-Heng is a powerful creature, with magic woven into their every fiber. It usually takes an entire pack of seasoned wolves to take down such a massive beast. The La-Heng towers above at a whooping twelve feet, with killer hooves and antlers that could easily gore an inexperienced wolf to death. And that's just what these males are. Young and inexperienced.

The La-Heng stag begins to outrun the wolves. The females giggle and back up to the rocks, whispering in each other's ears, wondering if the males can actually take the La-Heng down. He can see the few logical ones rolling their eyes. Brach stands and braces his paws. As the La-Heng buck crosses through the ravine, he leaps.

Raw instinct overtakes Brach, and he fastens his fangs around the throat of the buck with a clean blow. His ivory teeth puncture the live-giving jugular vein. It's in and out, simpler than Brach would've thought. The rush of blood coats his fangs, and the scent of the deer burns in his throat. The blur of color, the blast of air, the victory of a hunt.

Brach lands lightly on the rocky ground, holding out his wings proudly and shutting his eyes. Behind him, he hears the La-Heng deer grunt and fall to the ground heavily, and the gasps of awed females. Even with such ambushes, it takes two to kill such a powerful beast, with the exception of Brach's mother. He ignores those sounds and focuses on something else. The snarls of irritated wolves.

"That was our kill, Twinkle Toes," growls a wolf. Brach lifts his head and turns to meet Ghost-Face, an unpleasant black wolf with weird white markings.

"Well, it's not anymore," comments Brach, nudging the now-dead body of the white La-Heng with his foot. "I mean, if you find it honorable to eat off the spoils of another's hunt, then go right ahead, have a bite. Be my guest." Brach's eyes narrow. "But you were incapable of slaying the La-Heng, your big heads were just telling you otherwise. Next time, listen to your brains instead of your ego. That is, if you have any."

Ghost-Face and his two minions snarl menacingly. Brach moves into a gracefully protective stance and allows the faint rumbles of a growl to start in his throat. The La-Heng is his, not these numbskulls'. He carries his head high and retains all positions of dominance, and none of aggression. No need to tick them off further.

"Get outta here," orders Ghost-Face. "Go back to the nursery, where you belong. Or, better yet, run home to the unicorns." The males guffaw stupidly, but the females just look uncomfortable.

Brach waits a second, as if he needs a cue. Then he looks impatient. Theatrically, he leans towards the minions. "He was talking to you," he whispers loudly.

The she wolves laugh musically at that, and Brach feels himself warming to this raucous socialization. The he-wolves tuck their heads bashfully and back away, as if the attention of the girls embarrasses them.

"You're trying my patience," rumbles Ghost-Face. "Step away from my kill, pup."

Brach flexes his claws in a way normal wolves can't, and beats his wings as threateningly as he can. "When you're ready come and get it, na na na, na na na."

Ghost-Face snarls and jumps for him, but the movement is so clumsy it makes Brach wince. He darts in, raking Brach's claws against his leaping belly and throwing the wolf's leap of balance. Ghost-Face gets tossed into the stone ravine floor with an awful noise. The females all make an "oooo" sound and gather about in a circle. Ghost-Face rises with a shaky growl, turning to face Brach once more, blood leaking from one side of his face.

Brach momentarily leaves the battle mentally, thoughts rushing him. How had he done that? He'd never even learned to kill a squirrel, never mind a La-Hend stag or a fellow wolf. But here he is, skill and brawn greatly heightening that of his medaled and appraised opponent.

Ghost-Face and Brach nimbly dance in a circle around each other, each searching for an advantage. Fiona pushes her way through the circle of interested spectators, with Kendra balancing on her back. Encouragement gleams in his sister's eyes, giving him borrowed strength.

Brach releases a mighty growl, sending tremors through his throat. His paw snaps forward in a deadly arch, and Ghost-Face is tossed over the crowd by the blow, sailing clean over all of the wolves. Brach straightens, squaring his shoulders. Pride floods him, and the she wolves begin to cheer, until someone wails, "He's dead!"

Brach blinks in shock, heart breaking. That is, until Ghost-Face snaps crossly, "No I'm not! I am not dying at the hands of a pup on steroids!"

Brach chuckles, confidence building. He winks at the crowd, and sweeps a wing over the La-Heng carcass. "I'm not sure I can eat all of this by myself, and it's getting cold. Eat your fill; don't worry, it's on Ghost-Face."

* * *

"Did you hear about your son today?" questions Kendra, inching closer to Cadeliah. The wolf starts, knocking a test tube to the floor with a smoking splash. With a gasp, Cadeliah laps the fuming liquid up. Kendra frowns. "You just drank a smoking purple bottle of gunk."

"Not gunk," corrects Cadeliah, straightening. "Liquefied grape Jolly Rancher. I absolutely adore Jolly Ranchers, but they taste so much better as a fluid."

"I'm going to pretend that that isn't weird," laughs Kendra. She inches closer to the table, peering at the journal Cadeliah had been frantically scribbling down in. The yellow crinkled paper is covered in neat unintelligible script, along with several diagrams and number sequences Kendra can't comprehend. "Whatcha doing?"

"Writing in my journal," answers Cadeliah, dipping her index claw in an inkpot and continuing to scrawl across the parchment, finishing two pages in a matter of seconds. "You see, Kendra, with three minds, I often have brilliant ideas and theories, but they get lost within my memories or thoughts, unreachable when I need them most. So, as Fiona can tell you, I will spend days just sitting by my journal and scribbling down everything I can think of. I have thousands upon thousands of copies in my Library, the only place that's forbidden to the public. I'll open it after my demise, but no one but Fiona and Fiona's heir will be able to read it."

"Really?" questions Kendra, watching in awe as Cadeliah captures the flight of a sparrow on the page of the journal perfectly in three seconds flat. "Why is that?"

"The Soul Stone must be in your mind for you to translate this script," explains Cadeliah. "In your mind or running in your veins, that is. Of course, I've poured my own blood into the making of a few of the statues around the journal area of the Library, so they'll always be able to read it aloud to you."

Kendra blinks. "What?"

Cadeliah chuckles and pulls away from her journal, almost finished with sketching Chaos's dark features with the wind tousling his fur. "You're tired, my dear. Get some sleep while you can. And comfort your brother. I think he may still be upset about Chaos leaving."

Kendra nods. "'K. Take care, you hear?"

Cadeliah nods, eyes softening. "I will, my dear. I will."

* * *

Chaos gazes out upon the dark land drenched in the shadowy hold of night, eyes scanning the tundra and soaring mountains and the lush woods and the sparkling lakes one last time. Then he sighs. The silent midnight bells begin to ring in his mind, soft peals of high clinging to alert the passing of another day. The moon seems to sigh, completely full and round in the sky.

Doomsday is here.

"No," murmurs Chaos. He casts aside his cloak, eyes ablaze with determination. "No. It will not end like this."

* * *

"Get up." Seth groans and rolls over, ignoring the mean voice. But again something prods him roughly in the side, jabbing into his ribs. "For god's sake, Seth," cries a vaguely familiar shrill voice, "_get up!_"

Opening his eyes and starting, Seth finds himself staring at Cadeliah's terrified face, edges still fuzzied by sleep. As soon as she sees he's up, the she wolf moves onto rousing Tanu, nudging him roughly and calling the potion master's name desperately. Seth frowns, feeling as though he's playing a game of spot the difference as he stares at the she wolf. Beside him, Bracken rubs at his eyes.

"Cadeliah," moans Warren grumpily, "it's the middle of the night! What is it that can't wait till morning?"

"Fine!" snaps Cadeliah, completely out of character as she whips around to face Warren, baring her teeth in fright. Terror gleams in her mismatched eyes, making Seth's heart skip a beat. "We'll just hole up here and sleep while the Titanium Plague rages around us and kills everything we know and love! Just fine!"

Seth's jaw drops. Everyone but Kendra looks confused. Seth's sister lets out a particularly boisterous snore in the silence. Fiona sighs. "Someone wake her up; I would, but that would require walking…"

Cadeliah ignores Fiona and walks over to her daughter. Seth can feel the pressure of the moment in the air, as if a thousand souls are watching at this exact second. Seth shivers. Fiona's curled against the wall, the two pups cuddling against her with frightened eyes. Brach hovers in the doorway, a golden helmet glinting like a mirror shielding his face. As the events unfold, he sinks to his knees and lets out a whine.

Fiona stands at the approach of her mother, eyes glimmering with fear. Cadeliah stares down at her child, a single tear slipping down her face. "I love you," the old wolf whispers, leaning forward and brushing her neck against Fiona's and using her chin to embrace her daughter. "Never forget how much I love you."

Fiona hugs her mother back in a wolfish way, tears falling from her eyes to. In the midst of their embrace, the Soul Stone begins to twitch, sparking once with energy. Seth watches in disbelief as the ropes strapping the Soul Stone to Cadeliah's neck permanently begin to writhe and twist, loosening around her throat. They slowly twine around Fiona's neck pressed against her mother, the stone's glow becoming almost blinding. Seth lifts a hand to block the light, but fragments still filter through his fingers.

As the brilliance diminishes, Seth gawps at the sight of the glowing lines swirling on not Cadeliah's face, but Fiona's. The she wolf's fur gleams with fresh health, and her entire figure seems livelier, as if she'd just woken up after a lifetime of slumber. And around her neck, held by tan knotted ropes, is…

"The Soul Stone," sobs Fiona, collapsing against her mother, weeping horribly on Cadeliah's flank, pressing her face into the brown fur.

"I'm sorry," whispers Cadeliah, clutching Fiona to herself. "Oh, my darling, there's so much I haven't been able to tell you, so much left unsaid… You will come to hate me, but I love you so, so much…"

"I love you," sobs Fiona. "I love you too."

Cadeliah's tears plop against the ground. "I wish I could hold you here for eternity, my fiery little girl, but we have work to do. You know what you must accomplish."

Fiona breaks away from her mother, wiping tears from her eyes. Malice and determination burns there, so vivid it makes Seth want to look away. She nods, and snarls fiercely at the air, baring her teeth at the moonlight leaking through the ceiling. She licks at her mother's muzzle one last time before taking off, racing away.

"What?" whispers Kendra in absolute bewilderment. Her mussed hair is so frizzy Seth resists the urge to laugh.

Frantically, Cadeliah turns to the Fablehaven Questers. "When a Soul Bearer knows his or her life is in danger or she knows for a fact that she will not survive an encounter, they are able to pass off the Soul Stone to their heir prematurely. It's a permanent transaction. I am going to die soon, and I cannot risk the Soul Stone falling into the wrong hands."

Bracken shoots to his feet, an emotion Seth can't quite name glittering in his silvery eyes. "What is going on?" he demands, as princely as a guy can be wearing his jammies. "For real, Cadeliah."

Cadeliah turns to him, eyes brimming with tears. "I wish I could tell you," she whispers, her voice rough with emotion. Her entire body quivers, and Seth has to resist the urge to run up and give the big wolf a hug. "But if you know anything about what is to come before the act, then you will be blamed by grieving wolves, and you will be Hunted."

Kendra does get up and give Cadeliah a massive hug. "It's okay," she croons, stroking Cadeliah's fur. "Don't worry. It'll be okay."

Cadeliah tremors. "No, darling," she sighs, "it won't." She steps away from Kendra's embrace, but she seems calmer now, less frantic. She squares her shoulders and lifts her head, shaking her fur to rid it of any crystal teardrops. Ice settles in her blue and gold eyes. She turns to Brach. "You know what to do. Take your sisters and get out of here. Don't let your siblings re-enter this preserve."

Brach nods, light reflecting off his new helm. He scoops up two of his bawling sisters with his wings, cupping them onto his back. Tears race down their faces. Cadeliah nuzzles each one and whispers goodbye, and hugs her son desperately.

"Fly like fire, my son," she breathes. Brach whispers back, "Run like rivers, mother." And then he's gone, sprinting through the tunnel after Fiona.

"And you," addresses Cadeliah, wheeling on the three astrid people hanging in the shadows. Seth can easily make out Cassandra's white downy wings. "You know the task at hand. Have all of you been saving your power?" Nods ring through the trio. "Then go. Fly like fire!"

The astrids zoom through a different tunnel, making Seth's head hurt.

Cadeliah turns to the Fablehaven Questers. "There's something you need to know. There is no such thing as a Canadian pack that skins their family members. It was a lie, a clever lie, to distract you from the truth. No, Seth doesn't have to kill the wolves, but there will be wolves slain tonight. More than seven hides will be collected. I would dress for the occasion."

* * *

Kendra is jostled roughly on Cadeliah's back, every stride bumping her uncomfortably. Bracken's hands hold her firmly to the wolf, but he can't stop Cadeliah's bouncy gait. Finally, the mother wolf pulls to a stop.

River-Song looks at Cadeliah's face at the edge of the Council valley, and literally vanishes in a wink of light. Kendra dismounts, helped down by Bracken's patient hands. She hits the snow unevenly, steadied by Cadeliah's firm flank. Seth and Warren drop from a different spotted wolf, one Kendra doesn't know the name of. Snow-Angel, a white she-wolf singer Mara had taken a liking to, lets Vanessa and Tanu slide off her back. The rest of the party had come in the first shift.

Kendra gazes out over the little rocky clearing, remembering her first day among the wolves. She hadn't been back here since. Now, she can easily spot all the wolves huddling around the Council, leaning in to hear a wolf with shaking legs and wet fur speak.

"No," breathes Cadeliah, eyes widening with terror. Kendra's unease heightens.

"The disease," coughs the dark wolf with all the attention, saliva frothing at the corners of his mouth. "The horrible, horrible disease. It messed with your brain. It would drive you mad, it would. The cackling, ringing through the trees, echoing through the forests… They went mad, with the black eyes of the devil. The horrible, horrible disease. The poor infected, they would just…" He breaks off with a snicker. Then the wolf blinks. Kendra frowns and leans forward, noticing that his pupils are slowly enlarging. "They would just…" Again he breaks off with a giggle. His giggle grows into uncontrolled laughing, and his pupils get so large that they expand out, over his irises. Kendra stumbles back as he throws up his jaws and guffaws with mad laughter, black eyes unseeing. "They would just," he giggles, "leap forward and do this!"

The mad wolf jumps for the black Council member's throat, and latches on.

Kendra screams, despite herself. The black wolf drops like a stone. Sniveling with laughter, the mad wolf lunges for a mother with pups, and that's all Kendra can witness before Cadeliah herds her away from the horrific sights. Wolves are already on their feet, and Kendra can hear more high-pitched laughter echoing about from newly infected voices.

"Run!" wails Cadeliah beside Kendra. "For god's sake, run!"

* * *

**The Titanium Plague has arrived.**

**POLL: if Seth is like Chaos and Boro is like Bracken, then who is Brach like? Who do you think matches the friendly jokester, healed from a catatonic state by none other than Kendra Sorenson? Ah I gave that one away… Oh well!**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	31. Chapter 30

**And I'm back! **

**I've found that a lot of people favored figuring out who's who for the poll, so I'll do that again. **

**I've decided I'm going to put a wolf quote in each chapter. Here's this one:**

**"Follow me down the path. I will walk beside you, guiding and showing you the way. I will not leave you! I will be standing on the path watching you. If you ever feel alone, close your eyes...; You will see six sets of footprints, two belonging to you, and four to me... Then you will know that I have not left you. I will be there to guide you, whenever you need." -Unknown**

**Sorry it took so long to finish this, I was just sobbing the entire time. It's a really emotional chapter for me… SINCE I'M FRIGGING FORCED TO KILL OFF ALL MY CHARACTERS BECAUSE THE PLOT LINE DEMANDED IT.**

**Sob with me, my friends.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

Raxtus lifts his head, listening to the pure chords of Cadeliah's frantic voice, announcing the arrival of the disease. He roars, and the dozen other dragons echo the call, taking to the sky and diving desperately for the poor souls.

"Save the pups! Save the elders!" cries Raxtus, before spinning into a headlong dive for a white child backed up against the wall. "And whatever you do, don't get bitten!"

* * *

The disease spreads. Seth watches in dumbstruck horror as the wolves struggle to get out alive. A few of the intelligent ones realize there's no way out of it, so they grab a pup and run. But there's still hell everywhere as the infected shred into the pelts of those trying to run.

The original wolf had sank his fangs into a brindle wolf. The wolf had backed away in terror from the cackling infected one, and, in just a matter of seconds, it was cackling as well, eyes black as pitch.

The disease had been passed from wolf to wolf like a wildfire in tall grass, causing mothers to leap for their pups and kill them with a single blow. Wolves would laugh, white fangs dripping with their own blood, laugh for no apparent reason to the sky, burying their teeth into anything that moved, their own tongues and front paws included. The maddened wolves would stumble over the terrain like drunkards, fangs bared and eyelids held open to the extreme. Before long, the snow is coated in red.

As soon as the disease had broken out, Cadeliah, Snow-Angel, and the dotted wolf had ushered the Fablehaven questers urgently to this little outcropping, and what a place it is. Snow-Angel and the other had departed as soon as they'd dropped them off. The smooth walls had been a serious trouble for the sober wolves to climb, considering their claws would just skate over the rock. A few diseased wolves had tried and given up shortly afterwards.

Moonlight sparkles over the blood-stained snow, with not a cloud in the star dappled sky. Bodies already litter the frozen ground, the dark piles of the dead already stacking along the horizon. Seth swallows a lump in his throat, not able to forget the shrieks of pain as the nursery fell. Now mothers and children lie together in a final embrace, tears freezing on their faces.

Cadeliah pants next to Kendra, as Seth's sister rubs her around the ears comfortingly. Her eyes are immeasurable as they study her clan, her family, tearing each other to bits. Seth adverts his eyes as a trio of the Black-Eyes corner a young he-wolf with half his face covered in white markings against a cliff. He wishes he could block out the wolf's agonized screams as he's literally ripped limb from limb by the bloodthirsty wolves. A shudder runs through him at the howls of pain echoing throughout the valley.

"The Titanium Plague," whispers Bracken heavily. "I remember this now. It was used as an extermination, but then it became dangerous. Anybody could be infected and spread it, not just the targets. It must've been introduced by Tatiana to the Evertree Clan."

"Yes," agrees Cadeliah. She throws up her muzzle and howls something. In the distance, many multicolored specks rise up against the horizon. She stands on shaky legs. Somewhere off to the east, a purple pulse goes through the air, sending a rippling dome to seal them in. Seth gaps at the violet casing slowly shuttering the world away, pulsing hexagons appearing and then vanishing, becoming nothing more than .

"What is that?" whispers Tanu, eyes trailing the slow movement of the purple.

"A quarantine spell," murmurs Bracken. "No one with a particular disease or illness can leave it. But one of this magnitude, that would require the strength of hundreds of creatures!"

"And Fiona has the strength of thousands," pants Cadeliah. Her eyelids roll shut, and then open again, filled with biter determination. "As you've probably noticed, Fiona packed your bags after you left the den. She tried to tuck away everything, but if she missed an object or two of value, you can always return after this calamity is dealt with. Many of you have already taken up your backpack. The rest of you, I encourage to do the same. You won't get any other chances. Now, I called upon Raxtus and a few other dragons" – she jerks her head towards the colorful streaks diving for pups and flapping away – "to retrieve any pups or elders that they can. They all have scales like adamant, so that no bites will puncture their skin and get in their bloodlines. Once they reach the edges of the sanctuary, they will declare it fallen and call in even more reinforcements. Those reinforcements will be coming for you, but only if you give them something to look at. You must go _high_."

Cadeliah turns to her spire, the one looming over her den like a lonely finger clawing through the earth. "My cliff is the highest place in the area. There is a path, a lonely ravine, long forgotten by the present age. I cannot guarantee your safety, just say that you have better chances catching a ride out if you throw the die. Of course, I could just tell you what happens, but how boring would that be?"

Cadeliah casts one glance behind her. "I must go. You are not my only matter I must attend to. Make your decision."

Bracken hesitates, and so does everyone else. Awkwardness plagues Seth as all of their eyes flick to him. Looking for orders, like from a leader. Even Cadeliah's eyes move to him, and Seth can't help but remember everything the wolf had done for all of them.

Holding Kendra as she cried that first day, removing the Persian Leech, scaring off the chimera, defending them from the Council, talking to Seth through the Soul Stone and reassuring him all night long, following each of them, not attacking Seth and taking the Soul Stone for herself, taking Seth on tours throughout the crazy wilderness of Caelum Amplexu, lecturing wolves for being impolite to any Fablehaven Quester, telling stories that make Seth's hairs stand on end every night, restoring the wolves to their greatness, singing a baby dragon to sleep before returning it to its mother, watching over the Questers like a guardian angel, and even continuing to love him all the same after he gave up the Soul Stone. He looks deep into her eyes, and finds sadness. Great, powerful sadness. The sadness of a mother who'd lost thirty-seven of her adored children and misses them every night, who sings them lullabies to rest their long-dead spirits, of a wife who'd lost three of her beloved husbands and mourns them every time she closes her eyes, and of an ancient Scribe who'd seen so much, so much that they are prepared to face death in order to forget all of their worries for once.

And Seth makes his decision.

"We'll take the ravine," he sighs, eye flicking tiredly among the faces waiting expectantly. "Hopefully, we'll get out of this hell in time."

"Yes," agrees Cadeliah, eyes unreadable. "You, Seth Sorenson, will get out alive. I cannot say anything else."

* * *

Snow-Angel bares her teeth at her fiancé, snarling at his rabid form. Twistling giggles, soulless black eyes rolling. His grey fur is matted with blood and mud, and his hide is torn with bite marks and claws. His once long and elegant tail is missing, lost somewhere among the carnage outside the den. He clicks a few steps along the stone, claws tapping the floor in a bloodcurdling rhythm. Groping and stumbling along the sides of the den wall, he wobbles closer on unsteady legs.

"Can he see us?" whispers one of the pups cowering behind Snow-Angel. Snow-Angel looks deep in the love of her life's rabid black eyes.

"No," she answers quietly. "The toxins, it infects their brains, impairing their ability to use certain senses, like taste and sight. The toxins also attack the fear part of the brain, pouring on as much terror as a wolf can feel. It drives them mad. That's why they attack. Because the toxins are telling them that you're the enemy, the thing scaring them. Anything that moves and can harm the host body is terrifying to a point of madness."

"How do we cure them?" breathes another pup, scrunching himself against the wall as Snow-Angel's fiancé inches closer and closer, a demonic grin reaching over his face.

Snow-Angel's voice is cold. "You release that small, tortured part of their souls that remains."

"How do you do that?" questions one. Snow-Angel growls. The wolf is now within striking distance, and that works two ways.

"You kill them." And then Snow-Angel lunges.

* * *

"Oh my god," whispers Thunder-Bolt. His eyes track the figures on the ridge, and horror mounts. "God bless you, Cadeliah."

"That would've been us," murmurs Flash-Foot, voice quavering nearly as bad as his shaking legs on Thunder-Bolt's back as he stares at the desperate mother wolf being taken down by the dozens of insane wolves. Her pups make it another thirty feet before they're felled as well. Thunder-Bolt's ears go flat, and he turns to his son.

"That might still be us," he growls, meeting the pup's frightened blue eues as confidently as he can. "This is extremely important, alright? Do not pass over that border. No matter what your mum and I may do, you are never to set a toe over that line. You hear me?"

Flash-Foot nods. "Not a toe," he pledges.

A familiar striped form appears out of the shadows, no cloak shielding his horrendous scars. Thunder-Bolt's mouth drops open as Chaos, King of Shadows, pads past him with a steely look in his violent purple eyes. "Where are you going?" he calls after the wolf as he approaches the shimmering line Fiona had drawn along the edge of the preserve. "What the – uh, what the heck are you doing?"

"What I should've done a long time ago," growls Chaos, almost to himself. He walks through the boundary, purple bubble of protection sealing him on the inside.

"Are you crazy?" yips Thunder-Bolt in shock.

"A little, yes!" calls Chaos, turning to the advancing mob of maddened wolves. And then he begins to run.

* * *

Phillip's fingers drum against the armrest of his chair, and his bushy brows knit together in thought. "It's missing something," he murmurs to himself.

* * *

Kendra shivers against Bracken as a piercing canine scream echoes through the obsidian ravine, bouncing off the smooth walls and contorting the sound. It's as if the noise is coming from every direction, making Kendra's shoulders convulse in an unwelcomed tremor.

She's been pretty good about hiding her fear and sickening horror so far, but Kendra has no doubt she'll be haunted by nightmares for years because of the cackling, black-eyed wolves. She's also pretty sure Bracken knows that, too, what with the whole unicorn horn telepathy extravaganza. Even with all the hellishness going on, he's acting super nice and even more protective than the situation requires. The unicorn practically growled when Vanessa marched up.

Other than the occasional shifting shadow, the trip between the oily black walls had been a little uneventful; too uneventful to calm Kendra's nerves. She can already see the huge cliff rising into the distance, like a lone fragment of glass sticking from the skin of the world. There are no clouds to shield the very top of the cliff, allowing Kendra her first clear sight of the flat-topped area in days. The snow powders the black rock like sugar. The dragons circle around it, before diving at various locations throughout the sanctuary.

Bracken tugs at her sleeve, and Kendra realizes she'd stopped, gawking at a dragon that had swooped overhead with scales like a mirror. "Come along, Kendra," he sighs, tone tinted with sadness.

Kendra looks in his silvery blue eyes, gazing into their unfathomable layers of tender emotions, and drowning in the complicated sadness she finds there. She touches the horn-bracelet at her wrist, feet shuffling forward again. _I love you._

Bracken lays a hand on her arm, helping her over a mega-sized boulder in the path, and looks deeply at Kendra. _I love you a million times more._

* * *

Cassandra swirls down, talons outstretched, world just a blur of color. She snatches a small brown wolf pup from the slavering jaws of its father, swiping her free claw against his muzzle. The mother darts off, using her distraction as a getaway.

Cassandra shoots up through the clouds, clutching the mewling pup firmly in her golden talons. Her feathers slice through the air like razors, carrying her swiftly upwards and beyond the reach of the maddened wolves. The plumage covering her white face undulates in the wind, and she closes her dark eyes to slits in order to keep out the frozen debris riding on the gales out of her keen pupils. The pup squirms, obviously uncomfortable in Cassandra's iron grasp.

In a way, Cassandra can't help but envy the child in her grasp, despite the horrendous loss of his father and most likely mother as well. He won't remember much about the disease that tore apart his way of living, only hearing stories that can't capture the chills cascading across her skin with each terrified howl and each long cackle of insanity. She will always carry the memories of everyone she knows being torn apart by others and themselves.

Picking out the form of a small purple dragon circling over a patch of survivors, Cassandra dives. She navigates through the winds and sails above the dragon, gradually swooping lower and lower to its pup-covered scaly back. Gently, she hovers over the dragon and sets the pup softly on its back. The pup looks up at her with frightened yellow eyes. Cassandra banks away from the dragon, unable to meet its questioning eyes.

She swallows down the remnants of tears and ignores the lump rising in her sore throat.

* * *

Seth clutches the wall of the cliff for dear life, hanging onto just two adequate handholds and a teensy little wedge for one foot. The ice nips at his fingertips, numbing them and loosening his hold on the wall. Seth's muscles quiver with the effort of holding himself against the surface. His breath comes out in ragged pants.

For some reason, Seth finds himself envisioning his gruff mentor, coaxing him forward, for reasons beyond his comprehension. _Swing your weight over to the handhold Tanu had used,_ urges Chaos's voice, imagined up by Seth. _You are a Shadow-Charmer. You can do this. You need to get the right momentum when leaping towards it, or else you'll become a very messy smear. I expect the mad wolves can lap you up._

Seth pants, prepping his aching tendons, and swipes himself around, fingers groping blindly for the crack. For a horrible second, Seth teeters unsteadily, not finding any leverage. But then a strange wind smacks him roughly into the side of the cliff, smashing his nose painfully into the stone. With a groan, Seth's fingers latch onto the wall, and he shifts further along. Finally, he reaches the end of the risky crossing, leaping for the wide pathway.

Bracken steadies Seth as he lands uneasily in the white snow, throwing up a starburst of the white powder. He eases Seth beside him, making use of the limited space on the passageway, and prepares himself to catch Vanessa. Judging by the expression on the unicorn's face, he's debating whether or not just to let her plummet.

"That's one of the reasons Wolfen architecture is _not_ incredible," comments Warren, shaking his head at the easily ten foot gap between decently spaced walkways snaking up the cliff. "A wolf could easily just hop over that. Not so simple for the rest of us."

Kendra nods in agreement, rubbing her arms to keep warm. "I just don't wanna fall." She peers over the edge precariously. "That's a really long drop."

"Dragons fly beneath us now," agrees Bracken, reluctantly catching a hissing Vanessa in his arms. "So, do me a favor, Kendra, and back up a little."

"Kendra can do what she wants," spits Vanessa, glaring at Bracken maliciously and shuffling beside Warren. Warren buries his head in his hands and sighs.

Bracken regards the blix brightly. "Feel free to peek over the edge if you'd like. Hopefully, your thick skin won't soften your fall."

"Enough," snaps Tanu clearly finished with both of their crap.

"Only a few more cycles 'round this thing until the top," speculates Mara as she too leaps into Bracken's outstretched arms. Seth cranes his neck up and sees that she's right. It's only twenty feet straight up from here, roughly.

"Right," decides Warren, rubbing his hands together. "We should keep moving. It'll be daylight before long."

Kendra leans over the edge again, except this time, Bracken steadies her like some sort of bodyguard. Her eyes are sad and distant. "Look," she murmurs. "You can see them, even up here."

And Seth can. He can see the wolves ripping into the pelts of their son's and daughter's and mother's and father's and husband's and wife's and aunt's and uncle's and lord knows who else. He can distinctively spot one wolf on top of a ridge, lifting her head and releasing a peal of high-pitched cackling before tearing into her stomach and tossing her entrails over the snow, and repeating the process. Seth sort of wants to barf at the amount of red staining the crystal snow.

Bracken escorts Kendra back away from the edge. "I'm not sure we want to see any more than we already have, Kendra."

* * *

Cadeliah races over the snow, launching off of the head of a maddened wolf and ducking to avoid the flashing fangs of a crazy pup snapping up from the ground. Terror fuels her sprint, causing each stride to jolt her forward with outstanding energy. She must go, go, go!

But Cadeliah knows what will happen as soon as she arrives, and it drags down on her like a heavy weight, slowing every pawstep slightly. After all, who would want to race away to their death?

* * *

Bracken whistles in boredom. Kendra rolls her eyes, elbowing him in the ribs. "That's not going to help anything," she whispers, but her heart's not really into it.

He shrugs. "Sorry. Who knows? There might be a dragon with superb hearing."

Kendra sighs, leaning back against him, eyes scanning the sky in the dullness of the moment. Seth draws doodles in the snow with a sword, including one embarrassing unicorn sketched crudely. Warren and Vanessa cuddle on the opposite side of the cliff, murmuring things into their ears. Kendra thinks they're an adorable couple, despite Bracken's obvious disdain. Tanu rifles through his potions, sorting them as he always does when he's nervous. Mara just stares off into the distance, apparently lost in thought.

"I have a few gaseous potions," comments Tanu randomly. "If worst should come to worst, a couple of us might be able to take them to get out of here."

Kendra tries to stifle her annoyance as Bracken's eyes immediately flick to her. She shakes her head. "We wait for Cadeliah," she asserts determinedly. "She said she'd meet us here. She knows the future, so I have no reason to doubt she's thought of a way out of this." _Even if it means her own end,_ she adds mentally. She'd thought it'd been just to herself, but Bracken looks at her in surprise.

Before he can speak, Seth answers Kendra. "I agree," he says, standing. "We have to trust –"

He might've said more, but her little brother is cut off by a ferocious snarl. Kendra's on her feet in a moment, and Bracken is by her side. She holds Cadeliah's swords at ready, prepared to flick them and turn them into deadly sabers. But she falters as everyone recoils and regroups, backing away from the figure stumbling uncoordinatedly towards her.

Kendra recalls the thing he'd once said to her. "I know how I will end. I will end in blood, not in glory."

The stumbling figure of Thunder-Soul staggers over the cliff towards them, eyes black as pitch and jaws dripping with his own blood.

* * *

Cadeliah reaches her old den. She presses her nose against the rock doorway, then looks up at the long climb ahead of her, and can't help smiling.

"Showtime."

* * *

"Against the cliff," orders Bracken. Kendra scoots back a bit further, and feels herself tilting dangerously far over the humongous drop. Her head spins, and she clutches at the back of his shirt to keep from tumbling backwards.

"Can't go much further than this!" she complains irritably.

The party clumps together, becoming very friendly all the sudden. Warren and Bracken and Vanessa are in the outside ring, while the rest of the Fablehaven Questers cluster behind them, drawing swords awkwardly and trying not to elbow one another in the gut.

"It's either a huge drop or a very nasty death torn apart by a killer wolf," compares Warren as light-heartedly as he can. "I'd take the fall any day."

"Doesn't mean I want to be the first one to plummet!" hisses Kendra, glancing behind herself nervously as people only shuffle further back. "I'm pretty sure not only dragons but airplanes are flying below us up here."

"Much below," agrees Bracken. "I wonder how we're still breathing."

"Time and a place, Bracken," reminds Seth.

"Right," agrees Bracken as the wolf approaches. Kendra's heart breaks at Thunder-Soul's broken appearance, with the oddly splayed legs and the hulking walk, like he can't even see anymore. His head flails and his red tongue sticks out of his mouth. Kendra's not sure whether it'd always been that color, or if it had been stained red by blood. A huge chunk is missing out of his shoulder. The way he stares at Bracken and Seth, her boys, with crazy, soulless eyes filled with pointless, insane malice makes Kendra downright aggressive. Normal wolf eyes, you can't see the white around the pupil unless they're furious or crazy, and Thunder-Soul just happens to be both.

He stumbles towards Warren in a few propelled steps, frothing and spitting. Then he teeters backwards, grinning like a lunatic. Bracken chuckles in overconfidence. Kendra practically rips her hair from her head as Thunder-Soul focuses on the noise, black eyes darting aimlessly in his direction.

With a frightening roar, Thunder-Soul launches himself towards Bracken, silver claws raised and jaws open.

But something else gets in the way.

With a snarl more terrifying then anything Kendra had ever heard in her life, a brown blur smashes into Thunder-Soul's side, sending the grey wolf sprawling overtop the cliff. He leaves skid marks in the snow, mutilating Seth's doodle unicorn, which, honestly, Kendra isn't that upset about.

Cadeliah stands snarling, face contorted in rage, guarding the Fablehaven Questers. Her eyes burn.

Thunder-Soul grunts, breathy giggles escaping his gasping fanged mouth. He stumbles up to his feet, muscles straining to keep himself upright. He roars at Cadeliah, hind legs trembling and caving. Shaking his head and sending a glob of foaming spit flying towards Kendra, Thunder-Soul regains himself on quivering legs.

He snarls at Cadeliah. The she wolf's throat is rumbling with an endless growl, a deep, constant note from deep in her throat, and her eyes close to deadly slits. The sound of her snarl draws the mad wolf. Black eyes roaming frighteningly, he steps forward. He sinks into a crouch, roaring, and leaps for Cadeliah.

Kendra isn't quite sure what happens next. Cadeliah meets his lunge, and the two become a giant mass of struggling bodies. Cadeliah seems to be staying away from his teeth, ducking and twisting, but also pinning him to the ground. She clearly sees Cadeliah kick his firmly in the chest, sending the wolf sailing.

Kendra also sees clearly that the blow knocks Thunder-Soul plum off the cliff. She can hear the terrified howl as the wolf plummets, trailing on and on, until suddenly, it stops.

Shock overcomes Kendra, numbing her body. She'd become quite fond of the clever old leader and his jibes towards the insufferable Council, even admiring his playful wit and wordplay. Thunder-Bolt had clearly adopted his sense of humor from his uncle. She teeters on the edge of the cliff, unable to steer herself away as the rest of the party disperses, mobbing Cadeliah with praise. Even Bracken's forgotten about her for the time being.

But not everyone.

The wolf's coat isn't even splattered with mud, flawless and without even a nip from the crazy wolf. Cadeliah looks up at Kendra, glorious eyes filled with sadness. "Get Kendra away from the cliff," she orders quietly. "She's going into shock."

Bracken wheels around, arms splayed and eyes wide. He scurries up, wrapping an arm around Kendra's waist and leading her away from the edge. His long, regal strides are so different from her slow, trudged steps, but he lets her take her time, patiently remaining next to Kendra and adding extra body heat to counter the freezing temperature.

"That was incredible!" bubbles Seth, practically hopping up and down with excitement. "You saved us!"

"Death is never something to jubilate," scolds Cadeliah. "Instead, be simply thankful that you are breathing, and pity those who aren't."

Seth nods, embarrassed, roses of red burning on his cheeks. "Uh, sorry." He studies Cadeliah. "You look sad. Are you okay?"

"My beautiful Fiona," she sighs plaintively, not really answering his question. She sinks to her knees, muscles convulsing. Kendra quivers into Bracken's embrace. "My fiery Fiona, all alone."

"She has you," comments Warren. Cadeliah's eyes sweep up to him, filled with such pain.

"Not anymore," she sighs, eyes glowing with pain. "This venom hurts so much. Time is reclaiming me. I must go, go with my mother. I'll see my father, and my children and my brothers and sisters and all the dead I have patiently awaiting me… but I'll leave behind my Fiona."

"Cadeliah," inquires Bracken, each word sending dances of dread along Kendra, "you weren't bitten, were you? You don't have a drop of blood on you."

"Yes," whispers Kendra in horror, "she does."

Kendra stares at the perfectly circular red stain growing in the snow around her foot. Looking all around at the gaping faces, Cadeliah gingerly holds out a front paw. With precise accuracy, on the rough black pad of her foot, there's a mark.

"I was bitten," she whispers, holding up the crescent moon from rows of teeth cutting into her paw.

* * *

**CLIFFFFHANNNGGGEEERRR! Don't you just hate me?**

**POLL: So, if everyone stands for someone else in this universe, who is the equivalent of the corrupted Council? This one is a little difficult, so good luck. **

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh **


	32. Chapter 31

**Thanks for the reviews! So far, no one has gotten the last poll! The human Knights of Dawn are who I used as comparison to the Council. They're supposed to be good, but, honestly, there's corruption in their core and malice in their hearts. **

**This chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine, Alex Babaeva, who died falling an estimated 45 feet to her death on a rocky pavement. She always had a smile on her face, bubbly and happy throughout any scorn. **

**The time has come. **

**"I'm nothing but a lone wolf; misunderstood and labeled to be dangerous." –Unknown**

* * *

Chapter Thirty-One

Cadeliah staggers backwards, sinking to her knees, muscles shaking like a dead leaf in an autumn breeze. Her agonized eyes sweep up to Seth's, and he can truly see all of her pain she's been carrying around all these lonely years. He can see the terror, but it isn't terror for her illness. The wolf is afraid of death.

"Please," she croaks, throat closing in. "Please, kill me before… before…" Her body spasms.

She comes up, gasping, inching closer and closer to the edge of the sheer cliff. "Please," she begs, voice slightly more stable. "Do not let me die like one of them."

Seth's frozen. He doesn't understand why Cadeliah wants him to do that. He doesn't understand why he has to do what he does. He doesn't understand why she's asking him, and not someone who won't get all emotional about it. Tears spring in his eyes, and he shakes his head viciously. "No!"

"Please," wails Cadeliah. Seth watches in horror as her pupils slowly begin to grow, extending over the gold and blue of her irises. "I do not want to die killing those I love!"

Seth rests a hand on Vasilis, looking down at the humming sword, then looks up at Cadeliah heartbrokenly. He's about to draw it, and force himself to do what's right.

But someone beats him to it.

A blade springs from Cadeliah's neck, and her eyes widen and her body goes rigid, head held in a position of shock. A bronze blade peels between her flesh, right at the base of her neck, like a human collarbone. She croaks once, and goes slack into the snow, revealing the girl standing behind her and clutching the hilt of a killer sword.

Kendra trembles violently, each muscle jerking uncontrollably. She laboriously tugs Cadeliah's blue sword free, coating the copper blade with blood. Seth's jaw drops. She looks at him, and his heart wrenches. Kendra looks haunted, with wide green eyes so filled with glassy emptiness it makes Seth shiver. Her fingers quiver with tremors, barely allowing her to hold the sword. She holds his horrified gaze for a second, then looks down at the sword in demented surprise.

Kendra yelps, as if just coming to life, and throws the sword away from her, sending it skidding over the snow. It leaves blood in its wake. With a sob, Seth's sister collapses next to Cadeliah, wrapping her arms around the wolf's twitching body. Her arms wrap around Cadeliah's neck, and she buries her head deep in Cadeliah's fluffy pelt.

Seth thinks that the wolf's dead, but Cadeliah slowly wraps her head around Kendra in a gentle embrace. "Shhh," the old wolf hushes as Kendra sobs into her fur, voice raspy and thick. "Rest now. You are forgiven and thanked."

Kendra only sobs louder. With a burst of energy, Seth propels himself over the frost, stumbling next to Cadeliah and sinking to his knees. He lays a hand on her brown coat in disbelief.

Bracken appears beside Kendra, stroking her hair and pressing his body next to hers for warmth in the frigid weather. His eyes are sad, both for Kendra's current state and the dying wolf.

"Gather 'round," rasps Cadeliah painfully, turning her head to look at the rest of the stunned party. "My last words will only be heard by a few, and valued by all races, so gather round and listen to the tales of an old, old wolf."

They trudge forward, crouching before her and encircling the old wolf. Disbelief and pain shine in each of their eyes, a reminder that Cadeliah had touched the lives of everyone. Cadeliah's breath comes out in ragged pants. Bracken lays a hand on her flank, and his skin glows ivory for a second. The flesh from Kendra's strike knits itself back together, but the unicorn shakes his head sadly. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Rugged amusement enters her voice, and her eyes roll to Bracken. "For not being able to change fate? Silly Bracken. I am at peace with my demise, even if I fear what comes next."

Vanessa brushes back some of her fur, getting it out of the old wolf's eyes. "Afraid?"

A shudder convulses over Cadeliah's body, and she sighs. Seth blinks at her rich voice's return. "Ah, that's better. Ghosting is such a lovely thing, don't you think?"

"Ghosting?" whispers Tanu in awe.

"Ghosting is when a wolf's body is completely sure that it's dying," explains Bracken. "All other body functions shut down, digestion, excretion, even the pain receptors in the brain, and the body focuses on speech. It allows for wolves to give profound last statements. I'm not so interested in that. I want to know why the disease left you."

"It isn't a disease," sighs Cadeliah. "It's a liquid parasite. That's not precisely how it's explained, but it should help clear things up. Once the host is dying, they are of no use to the Titanium Plague, so the cells simply commit suicide. That's the simplest way I can describe it." She nuzzles Kendra's hair. "You gifted me with a slow death, child."

Kendra draws back, massaging the she wolf's ears. "I'm sorry," she whispers brokenly.

"It was what I wanted." Cadeliah cocks her head and fazes at Kendra with those knowing mismatched eyes. "I was on my path anyway. I have lived on this earth so long, you know. I have watched empires long forgotten, each greater than the Rome you remember. At the time, they were glorious and beautiful, marble castles domed with gold. But now, they are not even legends or tales, disremembered, erased from time. It makes an old wolf sad, to see the bodies of her children, both biologically and non, withering away and their greatness forgotten." She peers up at Kendra. "You will be just a legend one day, my dear, and a brilliantly inspiring one at that. And, eventually, you'll fade, and become nothing at all. It makes you feel small, doesn't it?" Kendra nods numbly. "And, of course, there's that little problem with time."

Warren cocks his head, profoundly interested. "Time?"

Cadeliah nods. Her eyes, instead of being foggy and muddled, are clear and precise, skating over their faces acutely. "Yes. My little complication." She sighs. "When I was a pup, I wasn't supposed to have survived that much time energy. I was supposed to die. I say 'was supposed' as in there was a whole other future, a whole other version of reality, that was crushed as my dear brother tore a hole in the fabric of the world when he fished me from the broken lab. It was originally a clean break, a simple puncture. But, like a baseball thrown through a windshield, the cracks grow and split and slowly shatter the glass. That's what's been happening. Kendra can tell you about her porridge incident. Things have been falling through the splits in time, and once, a person. A wolf, to be more precise. If I remain alive, if I do not die like I was supposed to, then the universe will shatter like a car windshield."

Kendra nods. "That makes sense. A lot of sense."

"No it doesn't," grunts Seth disagreeably.

"Clever children," praises Cadeliah, eyes rolling to Seth. "Such clever children. I can see why Chaos agreed to guard you."

"Huh?" wonders Seth, eyebrows creasing.

"Nothing," dismisses Vanessa, obviously focused on something else. "I'm still stuck on the Great and Powerful Cadeliah fearing something."

Bracken glowers at Vanessa. "Shut your yap, you insufferable—"

"I'd like to know, too," volunteers Kendra, elbowing Bracken in The Place That Must Not Be Elbowed. Bracken recoils, sucking in his cheeks and making a really weird face, and Seth winces in sympathy. Warren shakes his finger disapprovingly at Kendra. Kendra, of course, chooses to ignore everybody.

"Everybody has fears, Vanessa," lectures Cadeliah wisely, setting her head in Kendra's lap. The gesture seems to comfort Kendra, rising her from the dismal mood she'd been in previously. "Nobody is fearless, no matter how perfect they may seem. Yet again, I find myself speaking of Chaos. He makes demons quiver as he passes with non-magically induced terror. He is respected and honored and feared for his brutal distance and barriers he places, always keeping people an arm's length away from himself. The incarnation of a beautiful devil, someone said once. More like a lonely angel. Chaos, the poor child, has been hurt too many times. He's put up walls to keep the bad things from coming in. A good strategy, of course, but you must remember that mental barriers don't just keep out the bad, but the good things in life, also. The King is afraid of becoming too close to anyone, he's afraid of loving or caring about the wellbeing of others, because all he's known is that if you care, then you get your heart broken. Everyone he's loved has been taken from him. He was forced to see his family tortured and murdered in front of him, you know. That has hardened him. Chaos's biggest fear is that he will learn to love again, and then the poor soul will be killed because of him and his heart will be broken again."

Seth blinks.

"But me…" Cadeliah trails off, and her ears flatten against her head. She growls. "I fear being forgotten, as I have seen so many heroes." Her eyes glimmer with fright, and she quivers slightly. "I do so much, I love and forgive and care, so that I won't be forgotten. I do not want to be for nothing. I want to leave an imprint on the world, an imprint that will not be lost. It's part of the reason I'm a Scribe. Or was. I record stories and tales and all the heroes of eras lost and eras current, so that they will never be completely gone." She closes her eyes, leaning into Kendra. "I do not wish to be a nobody," the wolf whispers.

Kendra rubs the Soul Bearer's face. "You won't be forgotten by me," she assures simply.

Cadeliah chuckles. "You'd be surprised what a few millennia can do to the memories." She nods to herself. "Yes, in a couple thousand years, this will all be like a distant dream to you." Bracken's eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn't say anything.

"You can't be dying," whispers Mara. Seth looks at the Native American girl to see tears springing in her dark eyes. "You're Cadeliah. You are… you are even scattered through our myths and tales. The mother. The heavy burden of the Lost One. You never die."

"Everyone dies," sighs Cadeliah, looking up at Mara. "And my time is long past. However…" Her eyes sweep over the Fablehaven Questers. "I see the future, I do not control it. I know what will come in my absence. My death will start a slow rebellion, and a time of change. This is a beginning, not an end. To face this coming age, each of you must know something about your futures, each of you."

Cadeliah's gaze is so intense, Seth looks away. Her eyes are nearly demented with her urgency. "First," she announces, turning to the Samoan, "Tanugatoa Dufu. There will come a time when a giant, living mushroom is chasing you and Boro. I kid you not. Simply remember this: the _ears_. It's the _ears_ of the pig, not the nostrils."

"Huh?" grunts Tanu in bewilderment.

Cadeliah chuckles. "That's my favorite part. Anyway, next we have… hmm, let me think…" Cadeliah closes her eyes, murmuring something under her breath. "Warren!" she exclaims, eyes snapping open and going rigid. Her gold eye glows for a split second before going normal. "This will come in handy very, very soon. Look up for the Death of an Angel, and the savior of a princess's guard. Just look up. I swear to you, it will be a matter of life and death."

Warren blinks. "Look up. Got it." He cranes his head up to the sky.

"Seth, dear," murmurs Cadeliah, looking to him. Seth's throat constricts. She cocks her head, leaving a trail in the snow, eyes narrowing. "There is so much I'd like to share with you, to guide you on, to give you hints. But for now, this must suffice: your father isn't always the one who raises you and loves you for who you are, and parents can make mistakes in showing it. Be kind. Be patient. Do not give up on those that never give up on you."

Seth bows his head, mind swimming with confusion. Cadeliah's already moved on, however.

"Mara," growls Cadeliah. Well, it sounds like a growl; her throat becomes gravelly and thick. "You have a choice ahead of you: the life you need to follow, or the life you've always wanted. When the time comes, simply remember the honor Snow-Angel held in her tasks as a mere pup-sitter, and know you will always have a place in the hearts of all wolves."

Mara's the only one who doesn't seem confused by her statement. She nods firmly, eyes brimming with determination.

"Bracken," announces Cadeliah, shifting in Kendra's laps to look at the unicorn. Her eyes blaze with worry and tender bitterness. "Things are about to happen, poor child; and you will believe them to be all your own fault. It is in your nature. Remember that is Kendra throws a hissy-fit, it isn't necessarily your fault. It's Kendra's fault that she threw a hissy-fit." She smiles kindly at a very confused looking Kendra. "It was just an example, darling. Nothing personal. You're just a major point in Bracken's life, so you made a good analogy."

"Uh, okay," decides Kendra, frowning in befuddlement.

"Vanessa," decrees Cadeliah, dismissing Brackendra's exchanged glances of puzzlement. "Your future is quite boring, actually; I hate to say it. You fall in love, have kids, yada yada yada. _Boring_! So, that's my advice to you. Make life _interesting_. Be the fire-starter. Don't play by the rules. If my memory is correct, you and Kendra will discover the first time-travelling, rainbow-furred, six-legged, maned, deer-antlered, two-tailed, seven-horned, peacock-feathered unicorn with two pairs of dragon wings by the name of Brenda. Brenda absolutely despises Bracken, by the way. You know how they say, hate at first sight…" Cadeliah trails off, noticing everybody's confusion. "My, that was off topic! Anyhoo, stay sassy, Vanessa."

"That was the most horrible advice I've ever heard," mutters Bracken.

"Elbow him in the balls again, Kendra," orders Cadeliah. Kendra complies with a grin. Bracken sucks in his cheeks and makes a face.

Seth shakes his head. "You were asking for that one," he apologizes.

"You really kinda were," agrees Warren ruefully.

Bracken sighs. "I guess I was. Oops."

"Well, now you know," chuckles Cadeliah. "Let's see… We have everyone except dear, dear Kendra." Seth's eyes rake to his sister. She looks traumatized, petting Cadeliah's head with more conviction.

"You aren't dying," she whispers, as if the words will make it not true. "Please, don't die."

"Shhh," soothes Cadeliah, touching her wet nose to Kendra's chin. "It wasn't your fault, dear. I was dying all the same. Inside. Time, disease, sadness; all the likes were attacking me from all sides. It was only so long before I took my own life."

"Don't talk like that!" she hisses, fire burning in her green eyes. Her hand makes a fist around a handful of snow, compacting it and molding it to her grip. "There's always another way! You told me that yourself!"

"I knew that was going to come back to haunt me," she mutters to herself. Then Cadeliah clears her throat. She gazes at Kendra tenderly, gold and blue eyes slowly but surely beginning to dim. "To you, I say this: forgive yourself and others, and trust the Mother. I cannot say much on the subject of the Mother, or else it will cause a big timey wimey paradox thing. Thirty eight thousand years of knowledge, and I still have no idea how my brother runs around the world without causing major paradoxes everywhere. But please remember to be kind, child." Cadeliah's ears flatten against her head, and she gazes at Seth's sister with bittersweet eyes. "Forgive whoever hurt you, but never forget what it taught you. Oh, and, honey, some people just shouldn't knit."

Kendra throws her arms around Cadeliah, regardless of the knitting jibe. She buries her face into Cadeliah's neck. Cadeliah closes around Kendra in a chin-hug, and Bracken places a hand on her shoulder in hesitant reassurance.

Finally, Cadeliah breaks away with a trembling sigh. Seth can easily see the shaking in her bones, and the shallowing in her breath. "I have given my final advice," she announces, "but I have yet to give my confession."

Cadeliah's ears flatten with shame. "There is no such thing as a Canadian pack that skins their family members," she admits, refusing to meet the eyes of the gaping Questers. "I made up the story to give you a temporal peace of mind, and to pure the awkwardness from the night. And it actually worked! Surprise, surprise! But you still must take seven hides to the Singing Sisters, Seth. At least now, you won't have to slay a single creature. Alec is a skilled hunter; he knows all the ins and outs of skinning a creature." Seth blinks. "I have no doubt that Zia only need bat her eyelashes at him for him to step forward. Or maybe Mara." Cadeliah frowns, lost in thought, eyes a million miles away. She shakes her head, clearing it. "May I be bold enough to ask one thing of you, Seth Sorenson?"

Seth nods erratically. "Yes, anything!"

"Do not use my hide for your quest," sighs Cadeliah, her eyes sweeping over the glorious snow-crested peaks and canyons and emerald forests and distant glimmering lakes and the endless black velvet sky like a thousand raindrops sparkling on the fur of a dark wolf. She retreats to a different era, a time long ago, a time when everything was different. "Let my flesh rot on this mountain of my birth. Let my bones sink into the ground, untouched for centuries on end. Let my fur fall away and carcass become a smelly, bloody mess. Let me die here in peace, let me finally return to my patient family."

Seth's about to respond about of course he'll leave her bones to rest, but Cadeliah continues. "My family!" she keens. "My poor, poor family! Seven brothers, all lost to the booms of gun, and another to the drumbeat of a La-Heng's pounding hooves! Three sisters, awaiting me above with scars illustrating their honorable deaths as fine warriors! A father, who undoubtedly looks down on me and scowls on the horrible job I've done protecting his Soul Stone! A mother, disappointed with my ability to think! Lion-Heart, snarling at my other spouses with his rippling muscles and coarse personality! Inferno, with his clever wit and silly mocks, infuriating the dead around him! And my dear, dear Brambling, patiently awaiting me in his golden kingdom above, watching me with his knowing eyes. How does he think of me? Does he approve of the way I raised our children? Is he judgmental of the way Brach has turned out?" She shakes her head wearily. "Or perhaps heaven is just the rambling of an old wolf who fears death. How am I to know?"

Kendra strokes Cadeliah's heartbroken face. The old wolf sighs. "And all my glorious children! Thirty seven of them, all dying young, never learning the cruel lessons of life before it was stolen from them! Every night, I whisper their names, over and over, all my little children. My daughters and sons. None of you have children yet, so none of you can quite compare to the boundless sensation of love a mother feels for her child. Over and over again, I watched them ripped from my embrace and slaughtered. How must they think of a mother who cannot bear to lift arms against those who slaughter her children, a mother who replaces her pups every time we fails?"

"That's not how they'll think of you," says Kendra simply. "They'll say, 'That's our mum, soldiering on every night, and in our name!' Any kid would."

"Thank you, dear," sighs Cadeliah weakly. Behind Kendra's back, Bracken shakes his head sadly. He makes an X over his throat.

Her eyes skate to the unicorn. "Tell your mother," she sighs tiredly, "I forgive her, completely and utterly, and I will never forget our time of friendship. When he awakens, and he will, tell your father this: Bananas. It will make sense to him."

Bracken blinks and nods in confusion, eyes gleaming.

"I can see them," whispers Cadeliah in awe, her body going tense under Seth's hand and her eyes straying a million miles away. "My dear, dear children. They're running to me, but they can only come so far. They want me to come, too. But not yet. Not quite yet."

She looks at Seth. "Forgive yourself, you hear?" Seth nods solemnly. She turns to Mara. "Forgive others, my dear." Mara nods curtly, but she looks faintly displeased. Vanessa's next. "Love others, no matter if they're different or, cough-cough, they don't really like you either." She looks at Kendra with pleading eyes, ignoring Vanessa's disdained sniff. "Love yourself. You and your brother have the same problem. Everyone makes mistakes, and every great woman in history certainly had a rocky start."

Kendra strokes Cadeliah's fur, but doesn't answer.

Cadeliah moans. Her eyes roll, but Seth can feel her breathes getting slower and slower. "I don't want to be forgotten," she rasps in terror. "I do not want to be forgotten!"

Her voice quavers and shakes and shivers, and her brilliant eyes begin to muddle. Bracken reaches a hand out, laying it over Kendra's massaging fingers and pausing their progress. Cadeliah's voice rasps, and tears spring in her eyes.

"My daughter," she moans. "My poor, poor girl! Fiona, child! I love you, my dear! I love you!" Seth swears, a wolf howls somewhere in the distance.

Kendra's crying now as well, her tears intermingling with the ones on Cadeliah's face. They mix, two creeks of sparkling liquid diamond combining into a ribbon tracing over Cadeliah's brown fur.

"Leave my bones," she whispers hoarsely, eyes wild. "Leave my body!"

"We will," assures Kendra thickly. "Don't worry, we will."

Cadeliah relaxes in Kendra's embrace. She tries to nuzzle Kendra's arm, but can't move her head far enough, falling short onto Kendra's lap. Her mismatched eyes are distant and blissful, and a smile creeps over her face. Her labored breathes become few and far between.

"My children," she murmurs. "My lovely, lovely children. Exactly the way I remember you…" Rasping love enters her voice. "Oh, my beautiful children!"

Seth's throat forms a lump of sadness. His eyes well with tears, blurring his vision.

Cadeliah swallows painfully, another tear falling in the snow. Breathing slowly, giant head in Kendra's lap, eyes rolling close with each word, she whispers, "Love anyone and everyone, forgive no matter what sins they committed, and never forget me."

Cadeliah the Time Wolf, the Soul Bearer, the Eternal Mother, and the Scribe of Peaks Clan gasps in a shuddering breath.

She never breathes back out.

* * *

"Hail, the mighty Cadeliah," whispers Chaos. A single tear rolls down his face. And then he tips up his muzzle and begins to sing.

* * *

Kendra cradles Cadeliah's limp head in her arms and begins to sob. Seth stares numbly at the motionless form, not fully comprehending. He waits for Cadeliah to stand up, to laugh, to tell him about his foreboding future, anything but the thick silence. Something inside him refuses to believe that she's truly gone, never coming back. And it breaks his soul, because you always hear about this stuff over the news, always listen on the radio about the girl who was killed today falling off Humpback Rock. You become so used to hearing about death. But when it actually happens, it's like a slap in the face. They're never coming back. And it doesn't feel real. It doesn't feel real at all.

Over the ridge, a single melodious howl sounds, deep and harmonious, flowing like a creek over stones. It sings on its own, lifting and swooping through notes like a sparrow's delicate flight. Seth thinks nothing of it, until Kendra raises her head and begins to sing along.

Her high, lilting melody combines with the male's tenuous chords, forming a duet of an unheard of beauty. Seth blinks. Kendra's eyes are closed, but he can still see the tears fringing her lashes, and the light glowing at the tips of the lids like two crescent moons. She raises up, reaching a glorious note, moving with the music.

"Uh," says Warren.

But then all the wolves around them also break into song, like some sort of middle school chorus. Seth scrambles to his feet, hearing the thrumming harmony of thousands of voices, ringing over the valley and echoing off the blood-drenched hills. Kendra and the male voice lead them, somehow loudest of them all. Seth scrambles to his feet and peeks over the edge, eyes widening to see that even the mad wolves are howling with their former beauty.

A deep voice Seth's never heard before joins in, and he sees Bracken beside Kendra singing a steady baritone beat. The unicorn's eyes glow just the same. Seth shivers. "Huh…?"

And then a sensation of great grief, unlike anything he's ever felt before, rolls over Seth like a ton of bricks. It wells in his chest, knotting and writhing like a mass of snakes. Not really sure of what he's doing, he lifts his head and joins in automatically.

Part of Seth is creeped out as he instinctively floats over his tune with ease, but it feel so natural, he can't really say anything about it. His throat vibrates with his rich tune. He's acutely away that everyone but Vanessa's joined in at this point. The blix looks at them as if they've all gone nuts, which might be the case. Kendra continues to show her fantastic voice, with another female joining the leading harmony. Bracken's slowly worming his way into the main action, his notes becoming more and more prudent.

In the corner of his eye, he can see a dragon lift its elegant head and begin to sing as well. The earth shakes with the voices of all the creatures, and Seth can't help but shiver as the world explodes with song.

* * *

Cadeliah opens her eyes to green. She stands on her feet with an ease she hasn't felt in centuries. Frowning she looks herself over. Wonder bursts in her chest as she sees her chocolate brown coat, young and glossy and healthy once more. She stretches her muscles experimentally, and revels in the ease they respond.

Curiously, Cadeliah peers around. Her surroundings doesn't exactly seem substantial; swirling clouds of pale green mist and yellow rarely do. It doesn't necessarily have distance or depth or mass or fogginess or clearness. It's just there. Cautiously, she takes a step forward, finding that the nothingness holds her weight. Laughing, she skips forward, her fresh muscles bouncing her forward with ease.

"Mummy?" questions a voice ringing throughout the clearing. Cadeliah whirls around to see a form standing on the nothing, a little pup with the greenest eyes in the world, like two little mint leaves against his pure black fur.

"Jade," she sobs, racing towards her pup and wrapping her firstborn in a firm embrace. Emotions froth inside her. Jade hugs her back, and he begins to cry.

"It's Mummy!" he wails. "It really is Mummy!"

"Mummy?" chorus many voices, and little figures materialize from the fog, each tilting their heads with familiar questioning eyes. Cadeliah gulps for air as she sees the faces of her beloved children, both young and old, looking at her in ecstatic disbelief. They all stare in awe at Cadeliah for a second, then launch themselves at her in fierce embraces. The pups leap for her face, little tongues lunging for a lap at her fur. Cadeliah feels herself get pushed back. She staggers and falls to the ground, careful not to crush any pups.

"Mummy! Mummy!" they all giggle and shout and cry and sob and whisper, nuzzling her and licking her and cuddling her and play-biting her and just sitting against her and sharing her warmth. Cadeliah chuckles with joy, tears running down her face. She licks any face she can. Waving her paws in the air, Cadeliah allows herself to be tackled and nuzzled and snuggled and bit and coddled. She closes her eyes, drowning in love.

"Hello, Mummy," greets a familiar voice in amusement. Cadeliah's eyes snap open. She attempts to wriggle her way from her children's hugs, but can't manage to escape her dogpile of love.

"Off your mum," orders a gruffer voice. The pups obediently file off Cadeliah, lapping at her face and wagging their tails in joy. Cadeliah stands on her paws, more tears streaking down her fur at the sight of her three faithful mates standing in front of her, haloed by circles of yellow light.

"It's about time you got here!" chuckles gangly Inferno, Cadeliah's second husband. He cocks his tan head, dirty brown ears hanging around his face. "I've been playing babysitter far too long!"

"You're the only one stupid enough to do it!" snarls Lion-Heart, his muscles bulging, towering over Cadeliah with his glossy black fur. His face is marred by scars and battle wounds, as well as the rest of his crisscrossed body.

"Hush," scolds the pure white wolf with eyes the color of the rising morning sun. He gazes at Cadeliah with such adoration that her legs feel like jell-o and her stomach twists like a teenager's. "Don't start bickering in her first few moments," whispers Brambling lovingly, taking a step towards Cadeliah.

Stifling a sob, Cadeliah rushes forward and wraps her neck around his. He pauses for a shocked moment, and then twines his broad muscles around hers. Cadeliah can feel his tears of joy falling onto her ruff, but doesn't care. She only holds him tighter, closing her eyes to better savor the sweet moment.

"Cadeliah?" whispers a hoarse voice, ruining the magical second. Cadeliah jumps back, swinging around to meet the eyes of…

Fiona.

Fiona looks at her in terror, legs trembling and tail quivering. The Soul Stone pulses at her neck, a natural accessory for Fiona's proudly beautiful features. Her ears flatten and her eyes sparkle with fear. She takes one hesitant step over the green, but her paw falls through. Fiona quickly recoils, keeping to her little circle of purple mist.

Instinct rises within Cadeliah. She remembers when her father did the same thing to her, many years ago. Now it's her turn. She strides up, ignoring the cries of her pups for once, and listening to the call of her daughter.

Fiona's eyes are horrified. She sinks into a posture of submission as Cadeliah approaches. "No," she stammers. "You – you can't leave me all alone! You can't be gone! No! Just… no!"

Cadeliah sighs. She steps forward and hugs her daughter against her chest. Initially, Fiona is pliant in her hold, but then relaxes against her chest. She buries her face into Cadeliah's fur, not crying, just taking comfort from the gesture.

"What do I do now?" she whispers at last.

Cadeliah pulls away, looking deep into her daughter's eyes. "You survive. You pass on the DNA. You find a suitable mate, marrying for love and not for looks or money, and you bear offspring and possible heirs. You wander, you love, you protect. You guide the King on his embarking journey. You become the ideal wolf to be: gracious, kind, honest, but with a killer attitude." Fiona smiles weakly. "And, on top of everything else, you _enjoy yourself_. That is most important of all. Because, before you know it, you'll be here passing on the Soul Stone to your child, and then your life will be gone as well."

Fiona's eyes spark with determination as an eerie melody of sadness and farewell fills the green. Cadeliah looks around, bewildered at the heartbreaking melody.

"I understand," states Fiona, looking at Cadeliah deeply. "I understand now. Everything."

Cadeliah looks at her child with love as Fiona begins to fade, disappearing into nothing into the nothingness. She flattens her ears against her head, drowning out the lulling song of glorious sadness to focus on her daughter's words.

"I love you," she whispers, fur rippling with the breeze slowly dissolving her chocolate pelt.

Cadeliah takes another step forward, wishing she could find any suitable words. Tears welling and stomach aching, she whispers, "I'll love you for the rest of my days, child. I'll look down on you and smile at your greatness I always told you that you'd become. When you feel all alone in the dark, I'll be your light, leading you to safety. I will never leave you, my beloved Fiona."

The song becomes so potent now, Cadeliah can barely hear anything else. It booms throughout the green, a magnificent blend of all sorts of voices; young and old, dark and light, wise and foolish, even blind and deaf sing with beautiful chords of hope and majesty, with the undercurrent of a farewell that sends shivers down Cadeliah's spine.

"What is that?" she whispers to herself, whipping around and smelling the scentless air.

Fiona smiles with a brittle edge. She's almost completely gone now, a ghost of her former self, Soul Stone pulsing at her throat.

"Listen, mother," she calls over the melody. "It's a lullaby, a final farewell, a last goodbye. You will never be forgotten, and you will always be loved. Listen, Cadeliah, as every creature in the world raising in song together to sing the greatest wolf who ever lived to sleep. Rest now, mother, for your time is over."

* * *

**Sorry it took me so long to finish this, I just was bawling over Cadeliah the whole chapter… I hope I made you tear up. If I didn't, well, then I guess I'll try harder on my next fanfiction. **

**BRILLIANT IDEA: Can somebody please contact an animator or something to post this on YouTube? I was just watching Mulan yesterday when it hit me: can someone please make a video of Bracken running around and singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You" to the astrids as Kendra rolls her eyes and kisses their foreheads?**

**POLL: This one should be pretty easy, but I don't really want to say anything too major. Who is Thunder-Soul's match? Hint: Bracken looked up to Thunder-Soul because Thunder-Soul treated his subjects like he was their father…**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	33. Chapter 32

**Alright, sorry for the long wait! I sobbed a bit while writing this, too, so please tell me if you did too! I'm emotionally attached to every one of my fictional characters; you should've seen the way I started weeping over Cadeliah. It was pathetic. **

**"The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care." –Hugh Macleod**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Two**

A forlorn sensation grips Boro's heart as the lulling melody drifts to a saddened ending. A tear slips down his cheek. He closes his eyes and joins in the last chorus with abandon, making his last farewell to the wolf who'd raised him as her own a flamboyant one.

Memories course over him, swift and sharp as razors and painful as old scars. He'd just been a pup on the horrible day that his mother and father had been killed by a raging fire. All of his brothers and sisters had been claimed by the same inferno; if it hadn't been for Cadeliah, swooping through the flames like an angel, Boro would've undoubtedly perished as well.

Kendra's voice finishes the song, with one last note so high Boro wouldn't even dream of touching it. Boro falls out of the song and swallows down his grief, mouth dry. He opens his eyes slowly, watching the light crest over the ridge as the sun rises.

"Fiona," he whispers hoarsely. He turns back to the preserve, hundreds of miles away already. "Oh, Fiona." And then Boro begins to run.

* * *

Grandpa Sorenson looks at Dale in bafflement as he slides over the last few notes of the strange song. Finally, the young man drops out and joins in the frowning.

"What was that?" questions Grandma in utter confusion, blinking and looking around the room. Despite her relatively light-hearted tone, a tear trails down her cheek, leaving a glittering path on his waxy skin. Puzzled, she touches it. Grandpa's shock builds as he feels a tear escape his own eye.

"Why do I have the strangest feeling that Seth caused this?" sighs Dale.

* * *

The Fairy King stirs at the sound of a song. A memory awakens, but then it's lost.

* * *

Snow-Angel races over the snow, pup in her mouth. Her paws fly over the ice. The child swings around in her mouth. No matter how tightly she holds the pup, each jolting stride just wrenches him back. She's tired. Blood streaks over her white pelt. Every muscle aches. She can't go on much longer.

But they, they can go on forever.

The black-eyed wolves bay like a pack of deranged hounds, stumbling after her drunkenly. If there were only a few, like there was in the beginning, Snow-Angel could've easily outrun them. But nearly a hundred wolves stagger after her at top speed, each of their insane steps making up for two of hers.

She hears the ragged panting of one approaching, and she can see, in the corner of her eye, the foam frothing at its bloody lips and the soulless black of its terrible pupils. Snow-Angel's heart nearly bursts with effort.

The horrible part is, she can see the border. As she barrels out of the ravine, she can clearly gaze upon the snowy plain, and she can see the small group of wolves that'd made it out alive clumping together. But fate is cruel, so very, very cruel.

Her howl of pain stifled by the pup in her mouth, Snow-Angel feels the fangs of a wolf sink into her neck, and she collapses in the snow, letting the ravenous wolves tear into her flesh.

Snow-Angel closes her eyes.

So close.

So very, very close.

* * *

The look in Kendra's eyes makes Bracken's heart shudder. She looks dead and haunted. Her lovely glow falters. Those beautiful green eyes slide up to his, but they're empty, as if Bracken's staring at two plain emeralds. No, emeralds would at least sparkle. Kendra looks vacant, as if her spirit had decided to take a vacation.

Ignoring the blix and everyone else, Bracken wraps his arms around her, clutching Kendra desperately to his chest. After a stiff, uncomprehending moment, he feels her arms twine around his torso. She buries her head into his chest, and he lays his cheek against her hair, closing his eyes and breathing in her dirty, musty scent. He can still pick up traces of the shampoo the wolf pups used for the Fairy Queen's party, even though that seems like a lifetime ago.

"Hey, Bracken," comes a choking voice. After a moment of disbelief, Bracken releases Kendra and whirls around to see…

Brach.

The white wolf looks even worse off than Kendra. His brilliance is completely missing. Instead of light, misery seems to encircle the wolf. His pinkish orange wings droop against the ground. His fur, wet and matted from sweat seems to hang instead of lying against his skin. His grief-ridden eyes are trained on the still form of his mother.

"Hey, hey Bracken," chokes the fairy wolf. "I was flying over here, thinking, just… thinking. And, y'know, I was wondering, what's your last name?"

Kendra laughs, and Bracken glances down at her encouraging. The wheezing rasp was far from a healthy sound, but it's good to hear Kendra laughing.

"Don't have one," answers Bracken as the astrids alight on the ridge. The white owl, possibly Cassandra, squeaks at the broken form of Cadeliah lying in the snow. Alec raises a dappled wing to cover her eyes, looking away himself. Their faces are white and sad. Zia grunts, the only humanoid astrid out of the three. "You're such sissies," she hisses.

"You're a heartless jerk," answers Alec calmly. He looks at Kendra, and then at all of the shell-shocked group, and harrumphs. "Zia can take two, I can take two, Brach can take two, and Cassandra will take one. Then we'll get you all out of here."

"Why can't we just go in two shifts?" argues Vanessa. Bracken grinds his teeth and resists the urge to shove the blix off the cliff.

"Because some idiot dragon got infected," answers Brach in a quavering voice. His agonized eyes slide to Vanessa. "It's a risk for us being out here right now. I – I probably should be back with my sisters. Lord knows Fiona won't be able to take care of them now that mum's gone. So I'm risking a lot for this, blix; and I'm siding with Bracken on this one."

"Yup," agrees Zia. She scans the group, nodding to herself. "Right, so, Seth is highest priority, so he should be on the fastest bird. That would be, ahem, Cassandra." The astrid girl throws her sister an elbow, nearly pushing the owl off the cliff. Cassandra caws indignantly. "She won't be dragged down by so much weight, plus she's the fastest anyway. Kendra and Warren, you'll go with Alec." Alec nods curtly, and Bracken feels the urge to warn the astrid not to hurt Kendra. "I'll take Tanu, the heaviest – oh, don't give me that look – and Mara, who's among the lightest. And you, Brach, you'll take Bracken and Vanessa."

Vanessa hisses like a wild animal, eyes blazing. Bracken growls primitively, glaring at the blix sinisterly. Brach whines in complaint.

"Or maybe not," decides Zia. "I'll take Tanu and Vanessa. Mara and Bracken, get cuddly."

Bracken raises an eyebrow, and Kendra's eyes spark with fire. Mara rolls her eyes.

"Do you have to leave a trail of destruction everywhere you go?" sighs Alec in exasperation. Zia grins demonically at him. "Yours truly," she purrs.

Kendra huddles against Bracken. With the proximity, he can sense her thoughts and the turmoil of her emotions. She's afraid and confused and depressed and angry and guilty; she's so guilty, it makes Bracken's heart rend. He wraps his arms around her, nuzzling her hair and droning out the voices of the Fablehaven Questers as he closes his eyes and focuses on Kendra.

_It'll be alright, Kendra. That may sound stupid now, but I've been around a while. You live with something like a scar, and you think it'll never go away. You think you've been marred for life. But slowly, it fades, leaving nothing in its wake. You learn to forget. And god knows how long it'll take, but, so help me, Kendra, I'll help you forget this._

Kendra twists her head up and looks at him with sad green eyes. _But she asked us to never forget her. I promised I never would._

* * *

Cassandra's wings beat frailly in the wings, struggling against the winds to keep Seth airborne. He feels a bit useless, dangling like a ragdoll from her hands. She grimaces and eases onto a thermal, relaxing slightly and allowing her feathers to navigate them through the air.

In all honesty? Cassandra is a very pretty girl, with a rounded heart-shaped face like the one of her bird avatar. Her expressive black eyes seem to twinkle and gleam. Her gilded blonde hair glints in the light of the sun peaking over the horizon like a golden eye. Her huge, graceful wings slice through the wind like knives.

Far below, unhidden by clouds, Seth can see Brach carrying Bracken and Mara. Seeing the Fairy Wolf, a stab of resentment shoots through Seth for Zia. He hates that the astrid girl had even gone there with Kendra so frail. Seth will do a lot of things to tease Kendra about falling in love with her unicorny prince charming, but, if there's one thing he's sure of, it's that the two of them do share a fairytale true-love sort of affection. And, as he'd looked into her haunted eyes, he'd known that Bracken might be the only one with a hope of reviving her. The thought of Zia sending a plume of doubt in Kendra makes Seth's stomach knot.

Cassandra abruptly hits turbulence, bumping in the wind like a kite without a string. With a squeak, she dips dramatically. At first, Seth thinks she's just acting weird. But then he sees a black dart hiss through the air, and hears the furious screech of one of Tatiana's owl minions. He yells as Cassandra extends her wings and takes on evasive maneuvers.

Two things about hitchhiking with an owl that everybody should know. Number One: if you get motion sickness, this is not for you. Number Two: 'evasive maneuvers' is just short for Most Painful and Jolty Ride of the Century.

Seth is whipped through the wind uncontrollably, and he yells as Cassandra swoops and dives. He isn't really sure what's going on, only that his stomach does loop-de-loops. He's yanked vertical then upside down then sideways then straight up and then straight down and then repeat. Finally, Cassandra lets out a shriek of pain, and Seth slips from her grasp, falling through air.

Terror overcomes Seth as he plummets, wind raking through his hair and snatching at his clothes. He hears Kendra scream, but the sound is quickly lost in the gales. With his heart in his throat, Seth twists and flails in the air, struggling to right himself.

He can remotely tell that Cassandra's twisting next to him, flailing awkwardly. Her beautiful white and gold wings leave a trail of blood through the air. Feathers twirl after Cassandra. He yells, trying to get spread-eagle, but not able to flip himself towards the ground.

Cassandra screams again, and Seth closes his eyes, bracing himself for the cold hard ground. A sense of bitter despair floods him, and Seth waits for the embrace of death.

It never comes.

With a feeling like bouncing off the World's Most Uncomfortable Trampoline ever, Seth bumps onto the cold, wet ground. The snow melts through his pants, soaking his butt already. One hand scrapes against a blackened rock. He blinks in astonishment, unable to acknowledge the fact that he'd survived the fall. Seth laughs, gazing around at the snow sparkling with the morning sunlight. After astonishment comes dread as about thirty pairs of black eyes twist to him, and thirty frothing mouths break into insane grins.

Something tough and wet nudges Seth roughly. "Run, boy!"

With a gasp, Seth turns to face his mentor's grim, striped face and blazing purple eyes. "Chaos!" he exclaims gleefully, momentarily forgetting the wolves. Joy fills him, and he throws his arms around the wolf's thick neck. Chaos oofs and sways on his feet. The old wolf hadn't been a coward; well, not completely. He'd just been waiting for the right moment.

"My stars, boy," growls Chaos, nudging him harder, "do you have a death wish? To your feet!"

"Yes, sir!" yelps Cassandra, jolting up and glancing at the snarling wolves stumbling over the snow towards them.

"Is that, 'Yes, sir, I'll get to my feet' or 'Yes, sir, I have a death wish'?" questions Chaos in genuine bafflement, distracted for a spilt second. Then he shakes his head, clearing it. The wolf crouches, offering his back to the two. "Get on, little pups. Papa Chaos is taking you for a ride."

Seth scrambles up in the mushy snow, still beaming at the grumpy wolf. "I knew you'd come back."

Chaos snorts. His purple eyes roll. "No, you didn't. Let's save the mushy stuff for later, shall we?"

* * *

Heart-Hook whines, pressing up against the cave wall, tears spilling from her one eye as her father reaches Alex, her brother. The terrified squeals ring in her ears far after her father picks him up in those awful fanged jaws and crushes the little pup, leaving nothing behind but a pulverized corpse.

"Daddy," she whimpers, flattening against the wall. "Daddy, it's me. Your daughter, Heart-Hook. Don't you know who I am? What happened to you, Daddy?"

Her father has no answers. He black eyes flick to her, and Heart-Hook remembers no more.

* * *

"No!" Bracken hears Kendra shriek again, and he hears her fist collide with Alec's flesh once more. The astrid's careful flight wobbles precariously through the air. He winces, jaw clenching and muscles tightening to refrain from helping his light.

"Kendra, he's fin—"

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME MY BROTHER IS FINE!" she roars in fury, giving Alec another ferocious punch. Pity rises in Bracken for the pained squawk Alec makes as he dips in flight. He knows the force of Kendra's rage, especially when she swings in the Wrong Areas.

Tatiana's minion had flown off as soon as it had felled Seth and Cassandra, flapping off towards the distance. The astrids and the Fairy Wolf had been too weighed down to carry chase.

"Hit him again and even your unicorn won't think you're oh so pretty anymore," threatens Zia menacingly. Bracken begins to growl. Brach coughs and whispers, "Don't make this any worse."

So Bracken tries a different angle. _Take me in closer,_ he orders Brach mentally. The wolf abides, cutting through the air and leveling out as close as he can get to the struggling Alec. Mara's arms tighten around his waist as Brach flies, and Bracken tries to stifle his mild annoyance.

"Kendra," Bracken soothes softly. She whips her head up and glares at him, nostrils flaring. "Kendra, Seth is very safe in the hands of Chaos. I doubt a thing in the world could take better care of your brother. Chaos would put his own life on the line to save Seth without a second thought."

"Because you know so much about Chaos all the sudden," she snaps, but the emerald fire raging in her eyes begins to die down.

Bracken smiles as tenderly as he physically can, and sends a pulse of love through his horn. "Kendra, if I didn't believe that Seth is truly safe, then there would be no force from the deepest pits of hell to keep me from rushing to his aid. You're going to have to trust me this once, love. Can you do that?"

Warren develops a sudden interest in the sky, and immediately looks away. Mara leans back as much as she possibly can and starts whistling. Bracken keeps his eyes trained on Kendra, despite the slight turbulence in the sky. She glares at him feistily, but lets out a long sigh.

"I trust you," she decides glumly, sagging in Alec's talon. Alec glances down at her in annoyance. His black-dappled wings beat the air to carry him from Brach and give himself some space. Bracken watches helpless from Brach's back as Kendra is taken further from him on a dark angel's wings.

"Look," calls the blix, sending a fresh spike of irritation through Bracken. She lifts a finger. Bracken follows it and breaths in sharply. "The border. What's wrong?"

Bracken can easily see what's wrong; it's as clear as day. A few wolves race over the field, but there's just a few, much less that there should be, racing for the edges of the quarantine. Connected to the hexagonal shield casing the sanctuary is another smaller bubble. He can easily see the energy pounding out from a purple glow, visible even from a distance. He can almost envision Fiona standing tiredly, ears drooping as she struggles to maintain a shield. With wide eyes, Bracken sees the bodies littering the outside of Fiona's protection, but outside of the reach of the Titanium Plague as well. Bracken's worst fears are answered as a sleek black jet slices through the clouds like a glossy dart.

The Phillips Corporation.

Anger flares inside of Bracken as he comprehends. The wolves rush for the edges of the quarantine as soon as the disease breaks out, hoping to make it to the other side before being infected. The other side is a safe haven, a heaven of sorts. A wolf wouldn't ever expect another threat to be lurking just outside of their ruined preserve.

Out of one hell and into the next.

As soon as a wolf crosses the line, then the jet zooms in and makes short work of the unsuspecting victim who'd thought they'd made it out alive. The brutality of the trap makes nausea rise in Bracken's throat. The disease is just to flush them out. It doesn't seem possible Kendra's related to these beasts.

Bracken's heart leaps into his throat as one wolf family stumbles over the line, lifting their muzzles with howls of joy. He closes his eyes to clock out the horrible sight, but the awful sound of gunfire still rattles in his ears.

"Oh," says Vanessa weakly. "That's what it is."

* * *

Alec sets Kendra gingerly on the ground in front of Fiona. Kendra almost feels concerned for the tired she wolf. Every one of Fiona's muscles quiver, and rapid pants shake her body. She always seems on the verge of collapsing, held up only by Boro's firm body. The she wolf lays her head on the Wolf Prince's shoulder. Her tongue is slashed with cuts possibly carved by her own fangs.

Boro growls, and then seems to notice that it's Kendra. He tolerates her presence, but those lilac eyes give Kendra a potent warning glare unlike anything Kendra had ever felt before. She shivers and inadvertently backs straight into Bracken's awaiting arms.

He holds her from behind, arms binding around her torso. After a moment of belated shock, Kendra lays her hands on his muscled limbs and leans back into him. Gently, he leads Kendra away from the growling Boro, carefully guiding her eyes away from anything horrific.

Kendra lays against him and breaths in his sweet, sweet smell. Like meadow grass, or the smell of the rain, or something earthy and fresh. He seems to do the same to her, although Kendra can't imagine she'd smell like anything other than blood and sweat.

Kendra would've been content just to sit there, safe in her unicorn's arms for all of eternity, but all of eternity has different plans. A strangled and choked howl sounds from behind Kendra. Tensing, she whirls around to see that Fiona had lifted her muzzle. She follows the wolf's eyes to where, on the distant ridge, turmoil had risen. Kendra's eyes widen as she recognizes the sparking purple magic of Chaos, and the tiny figures sticking out from his back. She instinctively lurches forward, and Bracken lets her go. His hand falls to the second horn at his belt, and her hand falls to his first.

"Fire-Soul, Heron, Thunder-Bolt, and Wild-Stripe, with me," Fiona orders, the helpless little damsel disappearing with a determined flash of her mismatched eyes. The she wolf squares her shoulders, and it's like there's a whole other wolf standing there, one who doesn't need comfort from anybody. Her eyes gaze icily at Boro with their usual fire. "You, stay behind. Watch these idiots" – she jerks an ear at the rest of the Fablehaven Questers – "and my brother, King of Idiots."

A smile quirks at Boro's lips, but it's obviously hiding sadness and regret. "Will do, Fiona."

"D'awww," coos a familiar voice. Startled, Kendra turns to see River-Song reclining in a tiny tree with red leaves that shouldn't be able to hold her weight. Her cobalt eyes burn maliciously. "The King and the Bearer, united together in more ways than one."

"Shut up," sighs Brach in exasperation. River-Song's eyebrows shoot up, but she doesn't say anything.

"Fiona!" practically shrieks Sand-Heart, stumbling up to the Soul Bearer with frightened eyes. Fiona steadies her friend, the cream-colored wolf's alarm contagious. Soon, her eyes sparkle with fear as well. "Fiona! Fiona!"

"What is it?" urges Fiona insistently.

"Ca – your mum told Thunder-Bolt that if he passed over the border a fourth time to try and save anybody" – Sand-Heart gulps – "he wouldn't return. Please, I beg you, don't make him cross again."

Fiona shakes her head in exasperation. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Of course he can stay behind. Brach, come with me instead, but only as a last reserve." The white wolf nods briskly.

"Thank you!" sighs Sand-Heart in fathomed relief. She ignores her mate's eye roll and Flash-Foot's chuckle of amusement. Kendra can't help but be happy that the little family survived somehow, probably through the help of Cadeliah.

"Fiona," cuts in Kendra, stepping forward. The she wolf turns to her, eyes glowing as brightly as the Soul Stone beaming underneath her chin. "Fiona, I'm coming too."

"No," refuses Warren, Boro, Fiona, and Bracken at the same time. They all kind of look at each other for a second, and all start again instantaneously with different jumbled explanations, and pause once more, glancing around.

"No," says Fiona slowly, glaring around the circle with an obvious threat in her eyes. "You're mentally scarred, and physically, not to mention that you suck at fighting compared to any wolf. Heck, Bracken sucks at fighting compared to any wolf." The unicorn seems indignant next to Kendra. "You'd just get yourself killed. You're not coming."

"I second that," adds Boro.

"Me, too," comments Warren.

"Sorry, Kendra," apologizes Bracken.

There's an awkward silence. Kendra gazes around at the circle of faces, feeling hurt. She can understand that they're only trying to help her, but she feels cut out because of their intervention. And betrayed. Bracken is the only one that looks only slightly repentant, but he's still rock-firm on his resolution.

A piercing howl of pain rolls over the valley, and all the wolves' ears perk. "We'd better get over there," growls Fiona grimly, "before there's nothing left to rescue."

* * *

**Right! Sorry for the long wait, so on so on. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review or send me a PM if you have any questions that you'd like answered, advice, suggestions, requests, yada yada. I love PMs and reviews, and I love to hear just about your life! Going through some tough times? Tell me about it! Let me be your Cadeliah! I seriously have nothing better to do with my time. **

**Alright, let's get a-thinking: wolves are the creatures of balance, right? And, to them, everything has an opposite. So, let's just think a minute about Cadeliah. A white soul and a muddy brown pelt. Golden past and a wild blue yonder future. What are some other symbols of balanced bound into Cadeliah? Just think about that for a sec. **

**POLL: okay, so now we've seen a bit of friction between Boro and River-Song. This one really shouldn't be that hard. So we know that Boro (Bracken) is ticked at this unidentified female and Brach (Warren) tells her to shut up. Hmmm. **

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	34. Chapter 33

**Okay. So. I am getting like, zero reviews. And not one PM. Sooth a girl's mind and send me a review or PM about anything, okay? I am very nervous about the lack of response…**

**If anyone's worried about me overextending the storyline, don't worry, this is all planned. I'm not just adding more because I'm getting good reviews.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Seth leaps off of Chaos, rolling in the snow. The border spell makes a fizzing noise as he passes through, one echoed by Cassandra. Scrambling to his feet, he reaches over the purple line, causing more fizzing, and helps Chaos over.

The old wolf had gotten injured, but not bitten. He'd taken a tumble off a cliff, using his own body to shield either Cassandra or Seth from harm, taking the brunt of the fall on his own ancient muscles. Now, after carrying two kids' weight at top speed with broken ribs and a crooked spine, Chaos hobbles laboriously over the line with the help of Seth, back paw trailing behind him. Somehow, his ethereal cape had survived, covering his awful scars.

Covering his slow retreat is a group of young wolves. Fiona rears up on her hind legs, smacking her brown paw into the jaw of a wolf three times as big as her and sending it sprawling lifelessly in the snow. She wheels around and bounds over the edge, safely into the embrace of Boro. The rest do the same, leaping over the boundary and landing with ungraceful thuds.

"Seth!" cries Kendra, rushing up and smothering him in a bearhug. He grunts, and swears she cracks a few ribs in her strangling hold. He squirms, but she doesn't even loosen up. Beside him, Chaos looks at Kendra reproachfully and snorts.

"Oh, sure!" he snaps bitterly. "Hug the jerk that did absolutely nothing! It's not like I lugged his but over the boundary and saved him from life-threatening situations! Not like I risked my own hide for him! But sure, go ahead, ignore the wolf…"

Kendra detaches from Seth with a brittle smile, holding her arms out to Chaos. The wolf sticks his nose up in the air and sniffs, heaving his butt to the ground and sitting indignantly.

"I want a hug, but not from you," he sniffs disdainfully. "You've already hurt my feelings."

Kendra laughs legitimately. "Okay, well, who do you want to be hugged by?"

Chaos seems to think. Then he holds out his paws, balancing on his hind legs and makes cow eyes at Bracken. He flattens his ears and sticks out his lower lip, imploring with his purple eyes. "Please?" he pleads the unicorn.

Bracken bites his lip to contain laughter, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the wolf's neck. Chaos links his paws around Bracken's torso. Seth sees a blur of movement, and then hears Bracken's cry of startled pain and the silver blood dripping from Chaos's slender fangs.

Bracken recoils, rubbing the back of his neck where three puncture wounds had been punched. He glares at Chaos with hostility. The striped wolf licks the silver blood off his teeth with his red tongue, closing his eyes to savor the flavor, apparently.

"What was that for?" asks Kendra murderously, by Bracken's side in a minute.

Chaos's eyes peel open. He regards her calmly. "Unicorn blood. It'll heal me right up in a matter of minutes. Much quicker than anything else. Plus, it's a Danish delicacy."

Seth frowns.

"You could've just asked," droned Bracken in annoyance, despite the fact that the holes are already starting to close. Kendra reaches up to probe the skin lightly, eyebrows scrunched in concern.

"Where would be the fun in that?" cries Chaos. He shakes his head. "I got a hug and a Danish dish! You can't beat it!"

"You're ridiculous," laughs Cassandra, wandering off with her injured wing hanging awkwardly to the ground. She glances at Bracken sheepishly and gestures towards the limp limb. "I could use some unicorn blood."

Bracken glares at Chaos. "You don't need unicorn blood," he informs. "I can just heal you now. No need to complicate it."

"You're so boring," mutters Chaos as Bracken shuffles beside Cassandra and lays a hand on her white and gold wing. The old wolf ambles off, wandering around the small bubble, most likely exploring. Kendra glares feistily after him.

Her green eyes turn to him, and become concerned again. "Are you okay? Bracken can fix you up if there's anything at all…"

Seth smiles. He pats his body reassuringly. "All good."

Fiona's blue and gold eyes sweep the crowd. She then bares her teeth at the black jet hovering in the sky, malice burning in those young eyes. So much more anger and pain shines there, too much for a wolf as few in years as Fiona. All the wolves copy her, except Chaos, who scratches his ear.

"I think it's time Phillips and I had a little chat," Fiona snarls.

* * *

The man in the formal business suit ducks out of the plane, trotting down the orderly metal steps with his shiny black shoes like a modernized king. He straightens his tie and glares at Fiona from across the border.

"You wanted to speak to me, beast?" he questions loftily, as if Phillips is talking to an animal.

Fiona bristles, but her voice is orderly and calm as an ocean shore. "Yes, I do. I believe it is high time you and I had an honest conversation."

He snorts, rolling his eyes. "I don't speak to animals."

Fiona cocks her head and narrows her eyes. "Neither do I," she counters coolly, "unless they begin to bay at the end of their leash."

Phillips raises his eyebrows. He makes an elaborate gesture with his hands. "You wish to talk? So, talk."

Fiona squares her shoulders and lifts her head, displaying the Soul Stone proudly. Beside her, Boro copies the body language. "Over these long years, you have grown used to the wolves' absence from the world," she announces with a clear voice that rings over the plain like bells. "You've grown accustomed to bullying the other creatures and shunning other's rights, as if they have no claim to happiness. Humanity has devolved. You've gone backwards. You are not at the height of your power." Bracken grunts in agreement. Fiona's eyes shine. "But know this, little man with your fancy toys: your time is over. You belonged in a different world with different wolves. You do not have a place in the new day dawning."

Phillips waves his hand absently. "I did not land to be lectured by an animal. Make my day."

Fiona glowers at him. "You're used to my mother," she decides. "You're used to the wolf who forgives and soldiers on with the weight of everyone's soul out of kindness. You're used to the one who'd let you get away with slaughter and treachery and disgusting behaviors that have become habit. But, I have news for you:" – Fiona's eyes gleam, and she stamps her foot – "my mother is dead now."

She raises her head, voice becoming that of a commanding queen, not that of a frail girl. "Mark my words, Phillip Phillips: I am not my mother. What the wolves needed in a time of hardship was someone to hold them and to set the example as something higher than the low levels you stoop too. We're over that stage now, and a forgiver does not lead an army. A _warrior_ leads an army. What the wolves need now is someone to pick up arms and fight till their last breath. What the wolves need now is someone brutal and harsh, not afraid to spill their own blood to get the job done. What the wolves need now is a fearless leader to beckon them to battle against races of cruelty. What the wolves need now is _me_."

Fiona lowers her head, words becoming deeper. "I will not hesitate to do what's right, no matter the cost. I will inspire with my fiery temper, and I will lead with my decisive nature. I will not fail. The human race will crumble; I will stand over your ashes and I will prevail. I will return balance by destroying those who insult it. I swear to you, Phillip Phillips, you will pay for the crimes you have committed. Your time is over. Our time is now." Subconsciously, Bracken twines his hands tighter around Kendra protectively.

"My name is Fiona, daughter of Cadeliah. I am Soul Bearer of the Great Wolves. You are an insult to the balance of reality. I will take you down."

She holds her head high, squaring her ears and letting a growl rumble in the pit of her throat. Her tail straightens into a position of dominance. Balefully, her eyes glow. All four paws flex and reveal the shining black claws. The Soul Stone pulses, radiating power and ringed with a halo of light. Fiona looks like a queen, prepared to wipe out the human race. Bracken almost growls back, burying his head in Kendra's hair to muffle the sound.

Phillips pales. He tries to maintain his image as he scurries back up the silver stairs and stumbles hurriedly back into his jet, but the way he trips and glances nervously over his shoulder reveals his true terror of Fiona's display. The black jet's hatch hisses closed, and the futuristic engines whir to life. The plane sends waves of powdery snow flying into Bracken's face as it takes to the air.

"And don't come back!" snarls Fiona as it speeds away to the horizon. There's a second of silence, and then all the wolves break into rejoicing howls. Bracken can't understand Wolfen, but he can guess that there's much celebrating over the death to humans. This helps his nerves; how could a group of grieving wolves partying over the demise of millions of human beings right next to his precious light not be reassuring?

Bracken glares at Fiona as she approaches with Boro at her hip. "I sincerely hope all that was a lie," he growls.

Fiona looks confused for a second, eyebrows scrunching together. And then comprehension dawns on her. She laughs and shakes her head. "All the Fablehaven Questers have been marked Wolf-Friends. Nobody'll even think about laying a finger on them. We'll steer clear of New England entirely. Nah, they'll be safe."

Bracken stares at her suspiciously. "Not a hair on their heads harmed?"

Abruptly, Fiona is annoyed. "They're my friends, too," she reminds him. "I'm in no hurry to kill my only besties in the world off."

Bracken gazes at her pensively for a few more seconds, and then nods acceptingly.

"Are you two finished yet?" sighs Boro in boredom.

"I think there may be more to come," laments Kendra from Bracken's embrace.

"You two are impossible," complains Fiona, rolling her eyes and wandering off. Boro follows, whining apologies pathetically. Bracken stares at the wolf critically.

"He really is trying too hard," he remarks in Kendra's ear, for her mind only.

For some reason Bracken doesn't understand, Kendra cracks up.

* * *

"What are you going to do now?" Kendra's question makes Brach jump a few feet in the air, startling her slightly. He'd been staring off into space, handsome human face caught in another world.

Shaking his head, Brach answers candidly, "I really don't know, Kendra. With her new duties as Soul Bearer, Fiona won't be able to take care of my sisters, so that falls on my shoulders. I guess I'll take them somewhere secluded. Hunt for them. Teach them to sing and how to survive. Important things like that." He shrugs.

Kendra thinks about that for a moment. Her hope shrivels like an old rose. "So… I probably will never see you again?"

She'd gained a little bit of a mother/child relationship with Brach during her stay. Kendra can't help but adore Brach in the way you adore a cute toddler; he's like a hopeless little son that looks older than her. The thought of him leaving as well as when Bracken returns to the Fairy World makes her heart sink.

Brach smiles tentatively. "'Never' is an awfully strong word, Kendra. I _will_ see you again, just not for a while. Is that okay?" He glances at her shyly.

Kendra nods firmly, putting on a brave face. "Yes. I suppose that's okay."

* * *

Seth can't bring himself to look at the pile of pelts strapped up in the back of the helicopter. Sure, he only knows that one of them belongs to Snap-Crack the Council member, but they'd all belonged on wolves once, wolves with lives and personalities and children and girlfriends and boyfriends and lord knows who else. Nobody else can, either; well, nobody but Zia, but Zia's so heartless that he's not sure he counts her.

"That's the last of them," murmurs Alec huskily from Seth's shoulders. The astrid's claws cut into his flesh. Even though he knows it's necessary to keep Alec from slipping off, the pressure the owl man applies is quite uncomfortable. His razor sharp talons gleam like knives in the midday light.

Bracken escorts Kendra carefully around the still slightly smelly hides and helps her up the huge step. Seth's eyes linger on the pale form of his sister with concern. He knows that she still blames herself for Cadeliah, since it had been her that'd stuck the swords through the wolf's neck.

Boro shoves the hatch closed, shaking the chopper with the amount of force used in slamming it shut. He nods respectfully to Seth before joining Fiona in ordering the survivors around. The wolves plan on erecting a huge monument, bigger than the statue of liberty, to their kindred that'd died here in Caelum Amplexu.

Seth shuffles through the snow and hops into the helicopter, shimmying as best he can through the doorway. Alec squawks in annoyance at being jostled and flaps over to Zia's steady shoulder. He glares at Seth, and presumes to preen through his feathers with a human mouth, something Seth finds disgusting. Making a face, Seth strolls over to his seat and slides down the wall next to his gear. Next to him, Tanu is sorting his potions quietly. On the other side, Mara shuffles through pictures on her iPhone of a white wolf with blue tinged fur sadly. She keeps on adding them to an album, as if she's making a memorial.

Seth stares out the window as Warren, the last passenger yet to board, says his final goodbyes to the wolves. Clambering ungracefully onto the helicopter, he stumbles over a bag of stuff and collapses next to Vanessa. Bracken makes a face, but Kendra elbows him in the ribs and he returns to his book.

The blades of the chopper begin to spin to life, shaking the aircraft with every cycling rotation. The deafening noise loudens, and Zia pops the door closed to block out some of the sound. Outside the window, the tiny farewell crowd backs away. The wolves lift their muzzles and sing a last note of goodbye, before dispersing and racing into the yonder.

Seth watches the ground fade beneath them until the wolves are just specks. He watches wistfully as Caelum Amplexu sinks below them, and then disappears into the distance from the foggy window. A crackly voice comes over a loudspeaker Seth didn't even know the helicopter had. He jerks his head up at the familiar voice.

"This is your captain speaking," announces Chaos smoothly over the intercom. "Please stay seated until the ride has come to a complete stop. No flash photography, please. Keep all arms, legs, and ears inside the chopper at all times. If you are found with popcorn on the Chaos 2000-inator, then you will instantly be chucked off the side. Enjoy the flight." He pauses, but the intercom isn't finished. "Also, I have no idea how to fly this thing. We're going on an _adventure_!"

* * *

"I got you your damned pelts," snaps Seth irritably at the pale Singing Sisters, patience breaking suddenly. "I'm going to leave now, before I rip this place apart."

All six of their sick eyes move to his, and they seem to do the waves through their conjoined wrists.

"Is something the matter, young adventurer?" questions the flabby woman, Wilna. Her piggy eyes gleam with interest, and her white-tinged skin riddles with more veins. "You seem quite taunt. Much less fun than last time."

Seth tries to not let that bite at him, ignoring her completely. He glares at the tall one, Berna, and tries to blot out the other two. "I just witnessed hundreds of my dear friends get killed because of your stupid longing for some furry rugs," he spits acidly. "I am not in the best of moods at the moment."

"He's got attitude!" coos Orna, the short and hairless one. Her bald head glints as she leans forward eagerly. Seth tries not to shudder at her eyebrowless face and set, smacking lips.

"Silence," hisses Berna crossly. She glares at Seth. "You offered us any magical item of our choice, did you not?" Reluctantly, Seth nods. "And Wolfen pelts are of that category, are they not?" Again Seth nods. "So I fail to see the problem."

Anger alights in Seth's chest, burning at his soul. Instinctively, he pulls Vasilis from his belt and lets it sing with a flickering blaze in his hands. Like Chaos had taught him, he wills his eyes to glow as bright as the blade. "Do not cross me," he booms in an unnaturally deep voice. "I can and will burn this wretched place to the ground."

Berna cocks her head. "I do believe that is ours," she hisses, and it comes crashing down on Seth like a load of bricks.

He doesn't even have Vasilis anymore.

Feeling pathetic and useless, Seth puts the Sword back in its case. Sadly, he unbuckles the scabbard from his belt, and places it gingerly before the Sisters.

Seth had almost formed an emotional connection with the Sword of Light and Darkness. It had been like his caffeine rush during Chaos's extreme training sessions. He'd always unknowingly taken comfort from the sword's presence, consoled that he'd never be completely helpless. Now even that's being stripped from his and stolen by these maggoty women with the hides of his friends.

A bulging river troll waddles up and admires one of the hides. It's striped, like Chaos's fur, except like a tiger's, with black bands on a blood orange background. Seth tries not to imagine the wolf's awful last moments, attacked by a black-eyed plague creature, and fails.

The troll nods to the Sisters, and takes the entire sled with him. He strolls off with the pelts Seth has been working so hard to get for so long without even a second glance. It makes a hollow feeling enter Seth's chest because of the nothingness the wolves had died for.

He sighs and turns his back on the Singing Sisters, not caring if they have more to say. "You're all sick," he mutters, stalking back through the hallways. "So, so sick."

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Kendra," apologizes Bracken with so much emotion it makes Kendra's chest hurt. His beautiful eyes gaze down at her mournfully. He takes up one of her hands and presses it to his cheek. His breath gusts over her skin, tickling slightly. "I am so, so sorry."

Kendra smiles at him, trying to memorize the color of his eyes. Maybe if you took a dull grey cloud and interlaced it with aquamarine… Nah, he's got gold around his pupil. But, but… if there was sunlight leaking through… yes. Her smile broadens, but she can feel the phoniness.

"It's okay," she soothes, rubbing her finger against his prominent cheekbone. "You have to go help your mother rebuild. Plus, I bet you want to see your father again."

Bracken sighs in confliction, and a battle rages in his eyes. She strokes his cheek again. "Honestly, Unicorn," she assures, "I'll be fine. It's not like this is the last time I'll ever see you again."

"I suppose you're right," sighs Bracken reluctantly. A fairy zooms up to the porch and tugs on a tassel of his hair in jealousy, but he waves it off distractedly. It zips off in a huff. His grip on Kendra's hand tightens. "Promise you'll confess immediately to me if you spiral back into depression, you hear?" He stares at her meaningfully.

Kendra smiles, using her other hand to tap the unicorn horn she always has on her nowadays. "I'm not sure I'll have a choice," she teases. "I have a feeling you're going to be checking up on me twenty four-seven." He raises an eyebrow, and Kendra copies the gesture. "Am I wrong?" she challenges.

Bracken sighs and rolls his eyes. "I can't say that."

* * *

Chaos shuffles through the Library. So many of Cadeliah's greatest works, but all encoded in a language he can never read. Still, it's great fun, sitting in her bean-bag filled rooms and staring at the sketches and diagrams and trying to figure them out himself. He closes one journal and moves onto the next.

Chaos frowns. He looks at the title, and a grin spreads over his features.

"Oh, Cadeliah, you sly dog."

* * *

**Even beyond the grave, Cadeliah is sending us mysterious messages. **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW AND REVIEW AND REVIEW!**

**Sorry, I went a bit mega there. Oh, well. **

**Now, what can Cadeliah possibly be doing? Don't most dead people have, ahem, a will? And wouldn't a will be a perfect way for Cadeliah to fix everything? **

**Ha, I love playing with you guys. **

**POLL: There's one major factor that nobody's even seemed to notice yet: Jhama and Yetta. They have no human counterpart. What's up with that? There is no right or wrong answer for this, I'd just like to hear how you reflect on that. How will it affect them as they mature?**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	35. Chapter 34

**Sorry for the wait! I'm here! Don't worry!**

**Alright, so, flash-forward to Kendra's birthday, pretty much. The protected spell guarding the attic wears off once you're older than eighteen, and, as we all know, Kendra is seventeen going on eighteen. Mwahahahaha, yay.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Four**

Kendra wrings out her hair in the sink, trying to rid the excess water from her sopping wet braid. Even after a few minutes of drying after her shower, she's still dripping. The microwave dings, and she skips across the kitchen to pop open the small door. Frowning, Kendra pulls out her failed attempt at making a soufflé and pouts in disappointment. The hot dish burns her fingers as she pulls out the scorched mound.

"Happy birth-day to-morrow," sings a hoarse voice mockingly. "Happy birth-day to-morrow. Happy birth-day even-though-it's-not yet, happy birth-day to-morrow!"

"Chaos!" cries Kendra, throwing her arms around the huge wolf standing in the doorway. He grunts and sways underneath her sudden weight, soft fur tickling Kendra's face.

"Hello, Kendra," he chuckles, hugging her with his chin. Real warmth enters his voice. "I love how you don't even ponder upon the fact that a giant wolf is in your house; just run up and give 'em a hug, how 'bout?"

Kendra elbows him, pulling back and staring up into his violet eyes. "I mean, as long as you don't go tracking dirt everywhere, I'm fine with it."

"I wiped my paws," swears Chaos, shrugging a fold of his billowing cloak from underneath a foot and showing her his clean black paws. "See?"

"Uh-huh," grunts Kendra doubtfully. She glares at him suspiciously. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Chaos seems to remember something. He nuzzles underneath his cloak, revealing the paintball machine guns strapped to his middle for a split second before he retracts with a package held gingerly in his teeth. He holds it out to Kendra.

"'his is yours," he grunts around the present. Kendra scoots forward and inspects it. With purple wrapping plastered with rainbow unicorns, the square box a bit big for his mouth. She takes it, trying to ignore the drool moistening the corners, and jostles it a bit.

"Thanks!" she exclaims.

Chaos snorts. "This isn't yours, this is Bracken's." Kendra looks at him incredulously. He breathes out, looking off into the distance. "It's… a long story. Basically, I ran into a future-version of you on the way here. She gave me this present, and instructed me to give it to you – or her, I suppose – so you could give it to Bracken. Something about a good laugh. She said to give it to him right before you start getting all your presents tomorrow."

"Bracken isn't going to make it," whispers Kendra tautly, going rigid and placing the gift on the counter. She refuses to look at it again.

Chaos snorts and rolls his eyes. "Bracken? Not make it to your eighteenth birthday party?" He laughs raucously. "That unicorn would bend the heavens to do give you whatever you pleased, and you're telling me he's not going to show up?"

"He isn't," growls Kendra curtly, fingers curling around the hard counter rim and squeezing it. Her eyes flash dangerously to Chaos, but the wolf continues.

"Your boyfriend is going to come trotting up to your door like a sick puppy," muses Chaos. "You just wait and –"

"Shut up!" shouts Kendra, patience snapping. "Bracken isn't going to make it! He can't, alright? He's got stuff to do! I dunno, important stuff! I know as a fact he's not going to be able to make it!"

Chaos falls quiet, adverting his eyes in shame. For a moment, it's quiet. He speaks up. "I'm sorry," Chaos mumbles softly. "I should've listened. My bad."

Kendra breathes out and covers her eyes with one hand. "No, no, it's okay. I shouldn't have snapped. I'm sorry."

"You don't have his horn on you," notes Chaos in interest. Kendra pats her hip where she usually keeps the gleaming swirling object, and finds that her belt loop is empty. She scrunches her brow.

"Huh," she wonders aloud. "I always take him off when I get undressed, or, ahem, take showers. I must've forgotten to pick him back up. I do that, occasionally."

Chaos nods approvingly. "Good idea, that. Bracken may be a unicorn, creature of purity and so forth, but he's still male. No need for peeking."

Kendra snorts in displeasure. "Bracken wouldn't do that."

Chaos cocks his head, staring at Kendra with narrowed eyes. "He becomes less like a unicorn every day," the wolf murmurs, almost to himself. "I wonder…"

"Shut up," snaps Kendra, moving back to her smoking soufflé.

"I'm sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I?" Chaos shakes his head and sighs. "Always do that. Anyway, I'm gonna do a bit of wandering, okay? I will be back by tonight, alright?" He steps forward and presses his wet nose to Kendra's forehead. Kendra's pretty sure that it's some old wolf gesture, but it still feels weird. "Bye-bye."

And just like that, the old wolf is gone.

* * *

"Hey, hey Seth." Seth starts in surprise at the wolf suddenly standing in front of him, a huge white mountain of fur. He grins at Seth with huge ivory fangs. "Hey, Seth."

"Brach?!" explodes Seth, gawking up at the wolf's pinkish orange eyes.

"Hey, Seth."

Seth frowns. "What?"

"Guess what day it is!" laughs Bach in delight. Seth cocks an eyebrow.

"Oh, c'mon, I know you can hear me!" he urges, shoving Seth with the tip of his nose. "Sethsethsethsethsethseth! What day is it, Seth?" He cackles. Despite the shock of the Fairy Wolf's appearance, Seth rolls his eyes. "Seth, guess what today is."

Seth sighs. "It's hump day."

"Whoop whoop!" howls Brach, tossing his muzzle up. "HUMP _DAY_!"

Then he dashes down the hallway, disappearing in a clumsy slide down the stairs. Seth's eyes follow him in bemusement. How had he even gotten here? Probably came for Kendra's upcoming birthday. Seth winces at a crash from downstairs, followed by several apologies and a couple more crashes.

Seth chuckles at him, despite the fact that the scatterbrained Fairy Wolf had probably just broken every single valuable item the Sorenson family owns.

* * *

Chaos strays along the border of the yard, allowing the crisp scents of the dew-drenched morning to invade his nostrils. The tree branches shiver as a squirrel races along the limb, the leaves shaking droplets of water onto his striped fur. Chaos flicks his coat to rid the water.

And, in the mist, a figure begins to form. He bows his head in respect at the shape in the turmoil, ears flattening as he nods. Two glowing eyes storm in the center of the foggy brown cloud, and the wolf steps out of the mist.

"Cadeliah," purrs Chaos, addressing the insubstantial form in the fog. "Why, how fortunate."

* * *

Kendra snuggles down on her bed of hard pillows and coarse blankets, trying to envision that this uncomfortable couch is actually her warm bunk bed in disguise, to no prevail. The scratchy fabric chaffs at her skin with every breath, making the night miserable and restless.

Kendra had lied to her fretful parents and dubious grandparents about the comfort level on the couch, not wanting to kick anyone else off of their own beds. At midnight, the spell protecting any child in the attic will wear off of her when she turns eighteen. Then, not only will she be unguarded, but sleeping Seth will as well. That's just a recipe for disaster. So, Kendra had decided to just sleep downstairs on this uncomfortable sofa instead of making everybody else unhappy.

She doesn't understand how Bracken can do this. An hour in, and she already feels like crap. Whenever Bracken comes to visit, he sleeps on the couches. Of course, being a unicorn, Bracken probably has slept on dirt a fair many times. Maybe even these uncomfortable cots are a luxury for him. Then again, he's a Fairy Prince. He's bound to get different treatment then any old unicorn.

Kendra sighs. She tries not to think about her unicorn again, focusing on her birthday bedroom surprise. Many of her friends and family had joined hands and helped out with Kendra's new room instead of giving her an up-front gift. Seth loves to tease her about how much she'd love the room, jeering about how she can't step foot inside until her birthday. And, honestly, she's curious. Even the wolves had pitched in. Jhama and Yetta had seemed pretty excited about their gifts, and Brach hadn't been able to stop laughing about something he'd glimpsed on the inside. Not his present, he clarified. But _a_ present. A funny present.

Trying to block the barrage of thoughts, Kendra cuddles her already snug sheets to her chest and tries to sink into the abyss of dreams.

* * *

Bracken raises his head, focusing on Kendra's thoughts. He closes his eyes and molds to her mind. His lovely Kendra. _Pleasant dreams,_ Bracken finds himself whispering just as Kendra lapses into sleep.

* * *

Boro watches as Fiona sings underneath the moonlight, his heart wrenching with every despondent note. She isn't singing to anyone in particular; at least, anyone Boro can see. She may be convening with her mother. Fiona does that from time to time. But she doesn't sing.

Her gorgeous chocolate brown fur curls around her head, lush mane framing her prominent facial features. In a way, Fiona's tail is different; instead of a normal wolf tail, hers is bushy and flowing, like a fox's. Her fine ears, so keen and brilliant and triangular. The Soul Stone underneath her chin isn't only a pendant displaying her beauty, but also an off-limits sign, one Boro chooses to ignore.

"You really do love her," growls an unpleasant voice, "don't you?"

Boro snaps his head around, hissing slightly, afraid that Fiona's ears may pick up on the wolf's sound. "Shh," he urges quietly.

The pretty brindled wolf rises to her feet, green eyes flashing with anger. "You and I. We need to talk. Now."

Boro mutters under his breath, but he glumly trails after his girlfriend. Sueño. Such a pretty name. Such an unpleasant wolf. Boro picks his way through the brambles in Fablehaven, snarling at a curious imp once and scaring it off. She leads him away from the beautiful Soul Bearer and to the edge of the yard. He can almost see the bright lights through the trees, filtering between the trunks like a horror movie. The reds and oranges of the crisp autumn leaves don't crackle underneath his careful trod, but they certainly squeal under hers.

Sueño wheels around and bares her teeth at Boro. Boro stands his ground, perking his ears up and allowing a silent snarl to cross his features.

"You love her!" Sueño roars loudly. "How could you? How could you?"

"Yes, I love her," answers Boro calmly. "How could I not?"

Sueño bristles with rage. She blinks angrily. "That's forbidden, numbskull! Even an idiot like you should know that! She doesn't know her place, strutting around like she owns the world. That mutt is nothing but trouble! She isn't even your type!"

"And you are?" challenges Boro. Sueño's jaw drops open, but Boro feels something kindling in his chest, something that's taken far too long to come out on its own. "Fiona is a brave wolf. She never cries, never falters, never misses an opportunity to assert her dominance. She's coarse, she's mean, she's rude, and she breaks every rule in the book. But she's loyal, so very, very loyal. She never cries because she has too much to cry about, and if she started to break down, then she'd lose control. For other's sake, she doesn't weep. She never falters because she's tough as nails. She asserts dominance to remind herself that she's got to be somebody. Fiona does everything for a reason. She doesn't believe it when I tell her, but she has her mother's mind. Brilliance. Self-respect. Heck, respect in general. All of those are Fiona has."

Boro drops his head and growls ferociously at Sueño. The brindled she wolf steps back, fear shining in her green eyes. "Whereas you, you're nothing but a servant. I am not sure what I ever saw in you. You, Sueño, take pleasure in your own demeaning. You accept abuse – no, you welcome it. You are exactly everything a wolf shouldn't be. Tell me, Sueño, is there any way I could ever love you?"

Sueño's eyes grow large. She takes a step back, tears glinting overtop her green irises. She glares at him, snarls one last time, and takes off into the night like a shadow that'd never been there at all.

"Oh, that's golden!" comes Cassandra's voice from somewhere high in a tree. "This is going all over Howlz! I'm going straight to Fiona!" Boro sighs in exasperation as a white shadow crosses over the moon, and the astrid girl disappears into the stars.

* * *

Under Alec's scaly talons, the grandfather clock booms out twelve resonating notes, like a funeral song. It sends vibrations through him, shaking his dappled feathers. When the tune draws to an end, he turns to the girl sleeping softly on the couch.

"Happy birthday," he whispers to Kendra Sorenson.

* * *

Tiredly, he quietly opens the front door and slips inside, hoping not to wake anybody. The entrance room is silent and dark. Even from a distance, the glow of Kendra's light just barely illuminates the area. The area up the stairs is quiet and shadowed. Strange. Kendra must be sleeping elsewhere. He pads down the hallway, stepping over someone's pile of smelly laundry. He passes a room covered with the awful stench of blixes, one with the name "Vanessa" stenciled across the white wood with bold red cursive.

The man reaches the end of the corridor, and enters the familiar room, curious to find that Kendra's lovely light had only intensified. The living room is almost like home to him, after all these times of sleeping here on the rough couch. The crinkled yellow walls, the musty smell of mold, the puffiness of the armchair and the firmness of the sofa, the faded pictures lining the scratched wooden furniture, the rhythmic ticking of the old grandfather clock, and the painting of a fairy with sunlight passing through is translucent wings on the wall are all so familiar to him he doesn't even have to glance at them to know they're there.

But what really interests him is the bundle of blankets huddling on the uncomfortable sofa. This room has no heating whatsoever. Who on earth would sleep in this place, other than him? The answer is clear as soon as he notices the halo of ethereal light ringing her mussed brown hair.

"Well, how 'bout that," muses Bracken softly, leaning on the doorway. "Kendra stole my spot."

* * *

_Do you have it all?_ Cadeliah's question echoes in Chaos's brain. He nods anxiously, eager to get back to the cozy Sorenson house after the chill of the cold mist wrapping around him.

"I know what to do," he confirms proudly, holding his head high and allowing the hood of his cloak to fall back. The gold and blue eyes of Cadeliah seem critical as they burn at him from her mass of brownish fog.

_Under normal circumstances, this would suffice._ Cadeliah's voice grows unusually sharp. _But this is concerning my daughters and my son. I do not want you screwing this up, like you have so many other things. _

"Ouch," mutters Chaos, hurt.

_I am only doing what I deem best for my children. And I want my children to be happy._

* * *

Aladdin yawns. "I wonder when I am today…"

* * *

The Fairy King shifts again. Something is different…

* * *

Fiona lifts her head to the moon, breath fogging in front of her face. "Help me," she begs to the stars and to her mother. "Please, please just help me."

* * *

Slowly, a song wafts into Kendra's dreams, a soft, wordless lullaby that makes her unexplainably happy. The turmoil of raging thunderclouds that'd once been taking the forms of people who'd died in the Titanium Plague becomes silky and silvery blue, like cotton beneath her fingertips. She curls up on the clouds, and, slowly, they become firmer somehow, melting away into darkness.

Kendra regains her consciousness, listening to the gentle lullaby. But it's not recorded, and she knows the singer. Not yet opening her eyes, she feels the rise and fall of his chest, the flex of his powerful muscles, and his nimble arms rocking her to the beat of his song.

His lulling voice drifts Kendra in and out of reality, and she finds it difficult to stay awake. His voice is so soft and firm at the same time, so deep and comforting, so melodic and beautiful. She's pretty sure she twines her fingers around his neck, but she can't be sure. The darkness she sensing even from underneath her eyelids is vanquished by his presence. His melody seems endless as she is sung to. His sweet vegetarian breath cycles over her face. Shivering because of the deathly cold, Kendra instinctively huddles closer to his warm chest.

The last effects of sleep where off on Kendra's mind, and she realizes that he can't possibly be here. Even though her unicorn had lavishly apologized and felt immensely guilty, he'd had to stay behind to help with a crucial process in rebuilding the Fairy Queen's palace. She's most likely still dreaming. But Kendra isn't completely sure she wants the dream to end.

Finally, Kendra opens her eyes to disband the sensation of her love and to cuddle back into her blankets. But it doesn't go away, just pauses uncertainly in song for a moment. Then Bracken, her Fairy Prince, continues to sing to Kendra.

Like two silver quarters, Bracken's eyes seem to glow slightly in the pitch darkness. The ivory beams of moonlight that filter through the blinds reflects off his scruffy hair, and accents his ruggedly handsome features. Finally, the lullaby drifts to a mourning end, and Bracken's arms wrap even tighter around Kendra.

"Bracken," she whispers in shock, breathing in the scent of his clothing. "Oh, my god. Bracken."

"Yes," he chuckles in agreement, "it's me."

Acting on instinct, Kendra runs her fingers through his savagely cut hair. It's so silky and soft, it sends an ache into her stomach. Smiling and copying her gesture, Bracken massages his thumb against Kendra's cheekbone. They stay like that a while, staring into each other's eyes. Kendra could've lived and died there in his lap, staring up at his glorious face, but she shivers.

"You're cold," whispers Bracken, frowning. He tugs at a blanket. "Let's get you back to bed."

Kendra glares at him fiercely. "Ah, no sir. You will sit there and you will hold me and _you will like it_."

Bracken bites his lip in surrender. He leans down and presses his smooth lips to Kendra's forehead, right over her brow. Kendra grins with pleasure. She scoots a bit closer to him, and Bracken's arms hug her a bit closer.

And he is warm. So, so warm. Kendra wraps her arms around his neck and lays her face along his muscular collarbone, closing her eyes and focusing on the noise of his heartbeat and the sound of his breathing. She could stay there forever, in Bracken's embrace, but something crashes down on Kendra.

She pulls away and looks at Bracken in his beautiful silver eyes. "Wait. I was having a nightmare. Right?"

Caution enters his glowing eyes. "Right."

"How did you know that?"

He hesitates. Kendra can just barely make out the rosy blossoms of a blush on his pale cheeks. "You might've been screaming. Or you might not have."

"By that expression, it wasn't very good," groans Kendra in despair. It's just fine and dandy that she has to wake up everyone in the house, but she was probably screaming something embarrassing.

"I cut you off before you could awaken anyone," informs Bracken, still skirting around the question. "Don't worry."

Kendra grinds her teeth. "What. Did. I. Say?"

Bracken sighs in defeat. Then his eyes flash with amusement, but love, too. "You were screaming for me," he whispers, placing two fingers on her cheek. "Over and over again, my name. I was by your side in an instant."

Kendra feels the heat rising in her cheeks. "Oops."

Bracken smirks. "I think it's cute."

"Nobody asked what you thought," Kendra points out. Her arms, still around Bracken's neck, pull her a bit closer to him as she realizes something else. "Hold on. You're _here_."

"It would seem so," he agrees, puzzled by the question. Bracken cocks his head, silvery eyes tilting. The rush that accompanies his gesture is fluttery and passionate. But she's got to get these words out.

"What about reconstruction?" she questions, raising an eyebrow.

Amusement bursts over his face, like sombody'd just hit him with an emotion water-balloon. The fingers that'd been on her cheek curl around a strand of her hair. "Oh, Kendra."

"What?" asks Kendra defensively.

Bracken shakes his head, love shining in his eyes. "How could you ever believe that I would miss your birthday? My Kendra, turning eighteen. That's to be celebrated."

* * *

Chaos lets the dawn light wash over him. "Come at me, bro," he whispers to the returning sunlight, and then turns back to the Sorenson's mansion.

* * *

**Wow, I am spitting these out fast! Might I say: 2300+ views, guys. You rock! **

**Let's take a little walk down head-canon lane. I know, most of the time, the head-canons of the author are usually accepted as facts, but this is as much your story as it is mine so disapprove or whatever else. In her last chapter of physically breathing, Cadeliah states that a wolf falls through these cracks that were splitting around her. What if that wolf was Chaos? What if Chaos got transported to the future and met later versions of Kendra and Seth? What if that's why he tries to toughen Seth up, and why he's so nice and almost protective to Kendra? Maybe, when Cadeliah managed to bring him back, the only thing he was able to keep was his cloak, and so that's why he has it all the time. **

**Okay, like it or not, that's my head-canon. **

**POLL: Zia and the astrids basically have no place in the wolf/human diagram. However, a unicorn, Bracken, does. Why do you think that is?**

**Ciao, **

**~wolfluvermh**


	36. Chapter 35

**Right. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Five**

Kendra stumbles into the kitchen, hair fuzzy and still in her PJs, and sort of gets a birthday present already. Her mouth drops open, and the flavor of bacon rolls over her tongue.

After a while, Bracken had collapsed on the poufy armchair. Kendra had been too tired to argue. When she'd awakened, he hadn't been there, so she went on an adventure through the house. Still no Bracken. And then she had stumbled into the kitchen, following her nose to the mouthwatering smell of breakfast, to find him in pajama pants and shirtless. It's everything she can do to not drool.

He notices her, handsome face sparkling with delight. Like two coins, his silvery blue eyes light up at the sight of Kendra. Amusement clouds them at her prolonged silence, obviously noting her open mouth. "Hey, Kendra," he greets, turning back to the eggs he's frying over the stove. "Happy birthday."

Murderously, Kendra glares at the unicorn. "You have a gazillion ab muscles. Why was I not aware of this sooner?"

And Bracken does, his firm chest sculpted and bulging with strength. She might've been able to guess, true, by his athletic build, but it's still a really nice view. His abs are like rolling hills, and his stomach a flat plain. He even has the V… And the way sweat sheens over his pecks, probably from the steam rising from her breakfast… Kendra literally has to contain herself from not leaping into his arms at that moment. It would most likely cause some severe egg burns.

He glances at her in amusement. "You can jump into my arms if you'd like, birthday girl."

"Reading my mind again?" she growls, gaze turning fierce. He cocks an eyebrow and nods playfully. The smile quirking at his lips makes any anger she has stored away just sort of… melt. Kendra swallows, making her decision. "Right. Here I come."

Bracken sets down the pan, his little smirk becoming an all-out grin, and he holds his arms out in an invitation. Kendra takes to steps and leaps, turning her body in air. With a flex of his hard muscles, Bracken snatches her up effortlessly, cradling Kendra against his chest and swirling her around. He breathes in her face, and touches his nose to Kendra's forehead. Kendra's skin prickles at the sensation of his lips hovering over her flesh. Struggling to concentrate, Kendra whispers in awe, "How do you not have morning breath?"

Bracken laughs, and his form shakes. Kendra wraps her arms around his neck, and presses herself against his solid chest. She closes her eyes, lashes brushing his skin. "Happy birthday," he murmurs into her ear, sending shivers of pleasure through Kendra.

"How is it that you're allowed to do all this for my birthday, and I don't even know when yours is?" Kendra complains half-heartedly.

And then Bracken truly laughs.

* * *

Seth winces in sympathy as his mom strolls in as Bracken puts his arm around Kendra's shoulders. Her brown eyes widen, and the hand clutching her milk goes white.

Mom hadn't really taken to the fairytale life Seth now leads as effortlessly as they'd hoped; in fact, she'd done quite the opposite, making huge fits about everything. She'd tried to just ignore the fact that her son and daughter are mega rockstars in the magical world, dragging Dad back to their normal, childless life.

However, she still does things like insist upon public schooling, help Kendra shop, talk all night on the phone, and coming on someone's birthday. And one thing Seth is certain about is that she will not like this new development.

Of course, Seth is totally on the Brackendra train now. He ordered a Brackendra T-Shirt from Zia, and now gets great pleasure from wearing it in public when Kendra's friends are around. He can easily see the conflict about to unfold, and decides that, if need be, he'll jump in to save his sister.

"Who is this?" growls Mom, glaring at Bracken.

Panic flashes over Kendra's face, but she quickly contains it. "Hey, Mom. I've told you about Bracken before, right?"

"Right," she grumbles uncertainly, eyes flicking back and forth. Brach appears in the doorway behind her, stuffing yellow popcorn in his mouth by the handfuls. His human eyes flicker to and fro. "Bracken, very nice to meet you. Would you like to explain what you are doing right now?" Mom gestures towards Bracken's physical contact with Kendra.

"You must be Kendra's mother." Bracken untangles from Kendra and gives Mom a firm handshake. Mom eyes him suspiciously. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"You're too pretty," disapproves Mom, recoiling as if his friendly handshake had burned her. "Don't get me wrong, my daughter deserves a pretty guy, but you're too gorgeous. The pretty ones always have the most secrets."

Bracken frowns. "Ma'am, I would never dream of hurting your daughter in any way."

"Oh, sure!" moans Mom. "Sure you don't! Just wait and see, wait and see! My little girl is going to be bulging with a little baby and you're going to move onto the newest thing in town –"

"Mom!" hisses Kendra, stomping forward, looking extremely pissed. "Bracken is a unicorn, remember? The unicorn without a horn? Unicorns don't –"

"Unicorns don't, unicorns don't!" chants Mom in a singsong voice. Her eyes glow with rage. "My little girl is going to be bulging with a creepy horse monster! Not a cute baby! A horse thing!"

Bracken growls indignantly. "Mrs. Sorenson, I beg your pardon!"

"And he talks from the thirteenth century!" howls Mom. Seth scoots his chair further away from her.

"Calm down," soothes a voice from the mouth of the kitchen. The long, striped form of a lean wolf pads elegantly through the door, for once not hidden underneath the folds of a billowing cloak. Chaos steps into place beside Mom. "Madam Sorenson, I can assure the fact that Bracken will not do a thing to hurt your daughter. He wouldn't even think about the thing."

Seth's mother turns to the wolf, calming slightly. "How do you know that?" questions Mom, sounding slightly curious.

Chaos looks at her mysteriously, purple eyes filled with secrets and legends. "I am not qualified to indulge on that particular information, but I was a Son of Cadeliah before I was a Child of the Wolf. I know things that you will never comprehend. I have seen things your mind cannot even register. I have felt things you will never understand. And I know that Bracken and Kendra are Soul Mates. I thought only wolves had Soul Mates. I was wrong." And with that, Chaos turns on heel and stalks out. With his mouth still full of Lucky Charms, Seth gawks at the wolf's retreating form.

"Okay, then." Mom gives Bracken a feisty glare. "Get talking."

"So, you'll believe him, but not us?" asks Kendra incredulously.

"Chaos is a well-rounded wolf, with plenty of talent and aweing control over himself," points out Mom. "You are an immature teenage girl who flirts with unicorns. Let's look at this situation again, shall we?"

Kendra rolls her eyes. "Right. But, Mom, Bracken really does love me." Bracken nods and smiles. "He even gave me his horn." Kendra fumbles with something at her belt, and reveals the long swirling object. "See? He's so beautiful." Kendra's fingers gently massage the pearly surface, and Bracken's smile grows.

"I thought you said his horn was gone," intones Mom. Her eyes are still majorly suspicious.

"Unicorns have three horns," explains Bracken. "First horn, second horn, and –"

"How many other things do you have three of?" Mom growls, her tone clearly emphasizing the meaning behind her question. "Because, unicorn, I think you're sounding horny to me!"

Bracken buries his head in one hand. Kendra clutches the other and rubs her thumb against Bracken's skin, looking up at him imploringly. Bracken glances at her through his fingers, his eyes just flashes of silver. "I know where you get your attitude from now," he grunts. Kendra smiles bashfully.

"You've been giving him attitude?" Dad pokes his head in, beaming. "That's my girl! Team Brackendra!"

Brach chews on his popcorn thoughtfully. "I think Kenken would be so much more of an awesome nickname." Seth cracks up when he realizes how cool that _would_ be.

"I have been betrayed," groans Mom. She glares at Bracken pointedly. "I have my eyes on you at all times, Unicorn. At all times…" She backs out of the kitchen with weirdo wide eyes.

"Don't you want some bacon?" Bracken calls after her.

* * *

Kendra walks through the doorway and into the fresh scent of cinnamon cleaning detergent. Kendra had been in the room they'd chosen before; it's relatively square, with a little extension out to the side to allow for a window. She blinks at the sunlight pouring in through the glass, and laughs in joy at the bedroom her friends and – actually, by this time, they're all just family. She laughs in joy at the bedroom her family had created for her.

Kendra runs a hand along the light blue walls, gawking up at where the pale paint becomes… well, honestly, she isn't sure. After about seven feet of ceiling, the blue seems to become sky, with miniature clouds parading over the light blue fog. Her mouth drops as she recognizes a tiny Brach, swooping through the clouds. "Oh my god." Her eyes roam to the name tag. It reads, _River-Song, day sky. Chaos __and Seth__, night sky. Enjoy!_

"Wow," she whispers. She backs up, and takes in the entire room. In a daze, Kendra collapses on the plush queen bed, staring up at the sky in amazement. Another yellow sticky note brushes her hand. She picks it up. _Bed: Grandpa and Grandma Larson. Comforter and other: Grandma and Granpa Sorenson. _

The grandparents got her a bed. That's… almost stereotypical.

She swings her feet over the side of the bed and picks a note off a light wood nightstand. Also on the nightstand is a beautiful swirling lamp. The light emanates from a large creamy pearl, held in place by silver gnarled to resemble twining roots. She glances down at the note.

_Hand carved nightstand, dresser, and cabinets – Thunder-Bolt and Flash-Foot, but mostly Flash-Foot ;). Angel lamp – Fiona (PS: the lamp also works as a radio, TV, and cell phone.) Bookshelf – Boro. _Kendra glances up to see that along one wall of the room is covered with an empty bookshelf, made from the same light wood as the rest of her furnishings. With interest, she notices a small golden unicorn stamped on the upper corner of one of the sections.

Kendra meanders over to the three-foot by three-foot annexation, eyes as round as quarters. She grabs another yellow note, eyes scanning the paper. _Curtain and other objects: Sand-Heart. Poster: Chaos and Seth. Hammock chair: Bracken._

Kendra cocks her head, and her mouth drops as she notices the spidery thread glinting in front of the window, each sparkling in the light. In a dream, she drifts over to the work of art, and tears well in her eyes. She can easily see the laborious work placed into weaving this wonderful thing together, and she knows exactly who did it. Kendra swallows down a painful lump in her throat, remembering what she'd said: "Bracken, you're getting me one of these for Christmas, okay?"

Berry-Fur's precious hammock chair, the one she'd taken forever making, her pride and joy. Kendra shuts her eyes, trying to stifle the wave of tears. Of course Bracken would've gotten it for her, after that comment. It's not like Berry-Fur would be using it, anyway.

Half-heartedly, she reaches out and brushes the silky strings. Her fingers make the weavings hum, responding to her heavenly fairykind touch or whatever. Something else catches Kendra's eye, and she nearly chokes with laughter.

This must be Seth's and Chaos's poster.

It's a giant picture of a majestic unicorn, surrounded by bright red and hot pink sparkly heart stickers. There's three lipstick marks, and someone had scrawled the name Bracken underneath the unicorn's muscled flank. Kendra holds her sides, leaning on the wall to keep from falling to the ground in her laughing fit.

"That can't stay," she wheezes to herself, tears of sadness becoming tears of joy.

"What can't stay?" questions a voice. Through tear-blurred eyes, she sees a familiar silver-haired figure peeking his head through the door.

"Bracken!" Kendra gasps, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You're not supposed to come in until –"

Bracken's amused smile cuts her off short. "—until you're finished, yes, I know. But you won't be able to find my main gift without a bit of friendly guidance."

He glides over to Kendra, placing one hand on the small of her back. To Kendra's horror, he glances at the poster. A smile quirks his lips. He chuckles and mutters, "The signature was me idea."

"Was it? I hate you." Kendra shoves him playfully, looking up at Bracken with adoring eyes. "Thanks for the hammock chair. I got a bit emotional when I saw that."

His smile melts Kendra like the wicked witch in the wizard of oz. "I'm sorry. But that's not my main gift, either." Kendra gazes up at him curiously, gesturing around the room.

"There's not much left that you can be hiding," she points out, jabbing him in the ribs. His smiles broadens, and his hand wraps around her hips.

"It's not in this room. It's not even in this house." Bracken's mischievous smile makes Kendra abruptly nervous.

She glares at him potently. "If you got me a palace, I swear to God—"

"No palaces," promises Bracken in amusement. Kendra's mouth twists in an expression of distaste, but she allows him to tow her over to the empty bookshelves. His arm drops from Kendra. Bracken reaches up and touches the tiny golden unicorn plated onto the bookshelf with two fingers, glancing behind him at Kendra's fascinated face. "Nobody knows about this. Not even Boro, or your grandparents. It'll be your secret."

"A unicorn sticker?" questions Kendra incredulously.

"No," he sighs.

"Oh, forgive me, a unicorn sticker on an empty bookshelf. My bad."

Bracken rolls his eyes, and lays his other hand on one of the shelves. It instantly fills with books. "Boro forged a connection between this bookshelf and my gift to you, that way you can access all of your novels with ease."

"Oh." Kendra bites her lip. "I thought you said he doesn't know about your gift."

Bracken's smile is strangely devilish for a unicorn. "I told him it connects to a library in the Fairy Realm. Which, in a way, it does."

"You're making me sooooooo curious," protests Kendra, moving beside him. She glares at Bracken's innocent face. "Or maybe you're doing that on purpose."

Bracken grins. "I might, I might not be."

Kendra elbows him roughly in the ribs. "How do we do this, Unicorn?"

"Place your hands on this" – Bracken clacks his nails against the golden plate – "and whisper, _Thisaway_."

Feeling incredibly stupid, Kendra places two fingers like Bracken on the metal unicorn. Blushing red, she whispers, "This away."

"No," chuckles Bracken in adoring amusement. "That's still English." His other arm twines around Kendra, pressing her against his warm body, and instinctively, she leans back until her temple is resting on his cheekbone. His pulse rolls over Kendra, like the beat of a beautiful drum. Their arms lean against another, and their fingers twist together. His lips move next to Kendra's skin, and Bracken breathes, "_Thisaway_."

"_Thisaway_."

* * *

Bracken smiles from the doorway as Kendra explores his gift with childish delight, running to and fro. Love kindles deep in his chest, each of her ecstatic glances towards him adding a new log to the building fire. His heart aches with the passion behind his adoration, but there's no way he'd ever allow Kendra to see the sorry extent his love reaches. Finally, she twirls back to him, eyes brimming with adoration and amazement. "You really shouldn't have."

Bracken takes a step forward. "How could I not?"

* * *

Kendra's jaw drops as the world comes back into focus. She gawks at the fairytale world surrounding her, stumbling away from Bracken's embrace in breathless awe. It's a giant room, _huge_, bigger than Kendra could've ever dreamed. Spread over the green and white marble checkerboard flooring are immense beanbags and humungous life-size stuffed animals. A soaring ceiling sails above. In one corner, there's a chocolate dispenser. In another, there's a popcorn roaster and a flatscreen TV. Two stone staircases gilded with marble meet on the far end of the room, almost a sport's field away, joining together in front of a cheerful fireplace. And, lining the walls, filling the tables, lying in strategic positions everywhere, are thousands upon thousands of…

Books.

Shelved in rows upon rows upon _rows_ of neat coppery brown nooks, they all seem to smile at Kendra. The heady scent of ink and paper floods her, and Kendra gasps. Mingling with the aroma is the fragrance of magic. She drifts over to the balcony's railing, gazing down at the marble floor far below. Her eyes rake over the staircases identical to the ones across the way leading down to the main floor. She whirls back to Bracken, and a tear rolls down her face.

"You shouldn't have," she gasps, not letting herself believe this yet.

His beautiful smile is intoxicating. In that moment, Kendra would've killed somebody if Bracken had asked. He takes a step forward and throws out his arms in an offering. "How could I not?" Bracken cocks his head, silvery eyes glowing. "Technically, this isn't a palace."

Kendra hesitates, eyes wandering over the fantastic, gleaming room in lust. She returns her attention to her fairytale prince, the Fairy Prince. "I still am allowed to jump in your arms, right?"

Bracken's smile is so genuine that Kendra's heart flutters. His extended arms reach out further. "C'mere, you."

Kendra takes another flying leap into his embrace. He staggers slightly, but holds firm. His lips graze her brown hair, and he closes in around Kendra. Inside his arms, Kendra feels safe. Not physically safe, like she does inside the house. Not mentally safe, like she does when she stands in front of the wolf figurine Chaos had carved for her out of driftwood. Not even emotionally safe, like when she pops in her earbuds and ignores the world. No, in his arms, she feels whole and complete and right. He is hers, and she is his. Nothing could ever come between that.

"Wanna know the best part?" he murmurs, lips moving against her forehead. "I have a way in, too, straight from the Fairy Realm." Kendra starts with delighted surprise. "Of course, don't you ever try and come for me. You'll be burned up by the amount of energy scorching your flesh. Never come through my door, ever. Understand?"

Kendra nods against him, calmed by his steady breathing and rhythmic heartbeat. She nuzzles his chest. "Yes. Thank you so much."

"Not a word of this to the others." Bracken winks.

"Not a word," vows Kendra, eyes shining.

* * *

The happy birthday song drifts to an end, leaving Kendra blushing beet red. Chaos breaks out in wild opera for the last verse, throwing his head up and obviously enjoying himself. His voice slides all over the musical scale, like someone rattling the keys of a piano with desultory patterns. She blows out the candles on her, ahem, unicorn shaped cake and silently wishes for something. Kendra can't help her eyes flicking briefly up to Bracken's handsome face as she decides what to wish for, and can't keep his eyes off her mind as she blows out the blinking candles. And then she remembers Bracken's handy-dandy mind-reading horn, and mentally curses herself at his amusement.

"TOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOO YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU!" finishes Chaos, grinning at Kendra and making his eyebrows twitch sexily. River-Song snarls, "You think you're such a lady killer."

He looks at River-Song, offended. "You obviously haven't met any Persian she wolves. They are all over the whole stripes gig."

River-Song rolls her eyes, using one of her hind feet to shove Chaos away from her. Mom pales and scoots a little closer to Bracken, of all people. Kendra's approval drifts to him, and he shoots her an amused glance.

"Happy birthday!" sings Brach, nudging her roughly with his wet black nose. From his shoulders, Jhama and Yetta grin toothily.

"Thanks, everybody!" Kendra grins around the circle of family. Well, family and River-Song.

"Right!" hoots Chaos. He glances around superstitiously, and his cloak billows as an ethereal wind sweeps throughout the house, cold and smelling like the special flowers that only bloom at night. "Sorry to party crash, but Cadeliah is getting impatient…"

"What?" questions Fiona icily, glaring at him from her throne on the couch. Her eyes ablaze, and Boro touches his nose to her flank comfortingly.

"I can see dead people." The hood of his cloak gets tossed up by the wind, shielding his face. "Cadeliah is dead. And she's getting impatient."

"Shocker," mutters Seth under his breath. Then he shivers and says louder, "I can feel it, too. Something's definitely getting aggravated. Something powerful."

"Cadeliah would be powerful," agrees Thunder-Bolt, and Flash-Foot nods next to him.

"What?" wonders Dad aloud.

"Cadeliah," explains Grandma Larsen. "Tippy-top powerful, motherly, loving, caring, Queen of Wolves that they befriended. Touchy subject. She died for them. Long story."

"Ah," concludes Mom.

Chaos looks at Kendra with his purple eyes. A shiver tremors down her spine. "As much as I like you, Kendra, I didn't come solely for your birthday." He brandishes his head high. "I am here to discuss the last will of Soul Bearer Cadeliah, the Mother of Wolves. But first…" Chaos sits back on his haunches and claps his front paws together eagerly, eyes shining with childish delight. "Bracken, let's open your present!"

* * *

**If you were shocked by that will thing, dishonor on you. **

**Anyway, I don't have much to write here. Pretty much what's going to happen is that Chaos's going to read off the will (well, sort of) and then Kendra's going to make a choice and then the end. I might make a sequel if you guys really want me to, but I'm not promising anything. **

**POLL: who is your favorite character now? Mine is Chaos. I think he's fun to write about, plus fun in general.**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	37. Chapter 36

**Alrighty, sorry it took so long to get to you guys with this chapter! **

**I got a lot of positive feedback for writing a sequel, so I think I will! Just keep in mind: this project, although it's only taken a few months to write, took me years to mull over and nit-pick over every little detail. I'm not guaranteeing anything special with this sequel. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Six**

Seth giggles with amazement as Bracken hefts his present out of the cardboard box, clapping like a retarded seal. Kendra laughs in a strangled way, covering her mouth with one hand. Seth can see the tears glimmering in her eyes. Bracken's eyebrows knit together.

In Bracken's hands is a pastel purple bike helmet, with a strip of pale feathery "mane" running down the middle. From the front of the helmet spirals a plastic white unicorn horn. Seth cackles at the sight of a unicorn bike helmet.

Kendra lays a hand on Bracken's arm, making queer noises in order to stifle her laughter. "Put it on," she gasps. "Please, Bracken, put it on."

"Do, do!" howls River-Song, rolling on the floor and smacking a piece of expensive China to the floor with her tail and batting at paintings with her flamboyant wings.

Bracken sighs, more amused than irritated, and slips on the unicorn helmet, fiddling with the straps. He grins from ear to ear as the unicorn horn waves in front of his face.

"I can't say that I've ever run across anything like this," he chuckles. "Can't say I cherish this, either. It will definitely make boring days in the law room much more interesting."

"It's about time those throne rooms got a little humor," approves Alec from his perch on Zia's shoulder. Cassandra grins at Seth from the mouth of the doorway where all the astrids had been shunned to.

"Oh, oh!" hoots Boro. "I need one!"

"I'm not sure it works for wolves," laments Chaos, but his own flanks shake with barely noticeable chuckles.

Seth looks around at the sea of smiling faces: Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma Larsen, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson, Vanessa, Tanu, Warren, Bracken, Dale, Kendra (of course), Chaos, Fiona, Jhama and Yetta, Brach, River-Song, Boro, Thunder-Bolt, Flash-Foot, and Sand-heart. Mom hadn't been too pleased about letting that many wolves into the house, so Fiona, Boro, and Brach had all taken human form. Fiona's easily one of the most beautiful women Seth has ever seen, but he knows she's way out of his league. Thunder-Bolt and Sand-Heart watch from open windows, tails thrashing. Only Chaos had been stubborn enough to remain as a wolf.

"At least he has a sense of humor," succumbs Mom, still glowering at Bracken over the argument this morning.

"He has more than that!" growls Kendra, eyes flashing.

Chaos clears his throat. "Right." His purple eyes sweep over the crowd, turning Seth's insides to frost as he remembers the wolf's statement before he'd suggested Bracken open future-Kendra's present. "I wanted everyone to laugh for a bit before I shared this, because nobody's going to be laughing afterwards." Seth stiffens in accordance with all the wolves. They all turn to Chaos expectantly.

His cloak moves with another strange breeze. Seth shivers despite himself. Chaos looks odd and deathly all the sudden, his manner changing entirely. The way the bands on his face look, Chaos suddenly looks like a grim wolf skull. His purple eyes seem to glow, and the stripes along his fur seem to writhe like snakes of ink. The blue opal pendant stitching his cloak together gleams in the yellow lamplight.

"As many of you don't know," Chaos booms, his voice riddled with undertones a slight rasp that echoes each word, "I am not only the King of Shadows, but the Keeper of Death. Under my watchful eye, the spirits of those passed express themselves to their loved ones in slight ways most of the time; a gentle breeze to tousle the hair, a beam of sunlight to pass through thick clouds, or a pretty rainbow for the less original. Who else would Cadeliah pass her will onto?"

Seth's throat constricts, and a lump of grief rises in his throat. Kendra makes a choking noise, and Fiona goes still.

Chaos wraps his tail around his paws. "Her will is not for the ears of all; however, all those mentioned are in this room." A golden flash sparks from the kitchen, making Seth jump. The sound of rattling pots and pans echoes through the house, partnered by a wolf's yelp of surprise and the sizzle of boiling water. Chaos flattens his ears and sighs. "Well, Aladdin's in the kitchen, but it still applies."

Thunder-Bolt nuzzles Flash-Foot encouragingly, but as his eyes skim the room, the newly made papa wolf seems worried to Seth. It would really suck if the happy new family is torn apart by time-traveling biological daddy.

"For those of you that are not aware," continues Chaos, eyes ablaze, "Wolfen wills are different from regular wills. Cadeliah's will is even more different than that. She will explain further."

"She will explain?" questions Fiona crisply, held back by Boro's slender hand around her wrist. Her hands ball into fists as she glares at the striped wolf with all her Soul Bearerish rage. The enormous Soul Stone around her thin neck pulses. "Stop speaking in riddles."

Chaos clears his throat. "Fiona, your mother is scolding you about proper etiquette. It's painful. Hurting my ears. Ouch. Please, sit back down."

Fiona sinks back into the loveseat, but she doesn't look too happy about it. Bracken leans forward, eyes shining with bizarre interest. "How are Wolfen wills different?" the unicorn inquires. "I cannot see how much change can take place in a simple slip of parchment."

Boro chuckles. "For starters, there's no parchment."

Bracken looks like he's about to say more, but Chaos cuts them off with a powerful glare. "Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room." He nods at Seth's dumbstruck parents. Chaos turns to Seth's grandparents. "Er, you too, Mr. and Mrs. Sorenson." Together they shuffle out of the door, glancing at one another in confusion. Chaos raises his eyebrows, and flicks his ears. Following his beckoning, they all trample up the stairs. As she ascends, Mom shoots Seth a, "BEHAVE" glance. "Mr. and Mrs. Burgess… oh wait, that's not yet… sorry, tenses are difficult." Chaos shakes his head. "Vanessa and Warren. My, I think I'm shipping you two…" Warren goes deadly pale, and a wicked grin spreads over Vanessa's face. They file out together. Chaos shouts after them, "Rent a bedroom; you'll have fun!"

"Chaos!" exclaims Kendra, shaking her head. "You – no! You don't do that, I don't care if you know the future."

Chaos gazes at her loftily. "Sure thing, Mrs. Whatever-Unicorns-Do-Instead-of-a-Last-Name."

"You think you're so clever," chides Brach, coming to Kendra's rescue. Seth's sister just sort of stops, pausing expressions and freezing. He isn't positive she's still breathing. If Bracken's pale skin could get any lighter, it probably does.

"I am clever," growls Chaos importantly. "I have your mummy's will, boy; and even though the twins are mentioned, they are still too young for such grievous affairs. Shunt them off to bed. I've found that Kendra's new bed is very squishy…"

An old fire sparks to life in Seth's sister's eyes, and he grins as Kendra snarls, "Oh, you did not, you filthy animal."

"No," he agrees, "I didn't. And, Jesus, Bracken, don't glare at me like that."

Seth grins from ear to ear. "Alright, who's getting picked off next?" he questions, rubbing his hands together.

Chaos's eyes sweep the dispersing crowd. "Hmm. Zia, you're out" – the astrid departs with a string of colorful curses – "but none of you other bird things are. Unicorn can stay, Fairykind can stay, Little wolf can stay –"

"Who's little wolf?" breaks in Boro, cocking his head. "Is that, like, one of your nicknames?"

"No." Chaos's eyes meet Seth's. "It's the nickname the Brotherhood of the Black Moon gave Seth. For those that don't know, BBM is a group of shadow charmers that linked hand in hand for the forces of good and so forth. Blah, blah, blah. They're a little bland, in my opinion."

"Little Wolf?" exclaims Seth indignantly.

"Peace," calms Fiona. "It's considered an honor by many Nighten tribes to be titled after a wolf. Little is also used as a comparison to the person's cleverness, their sly tactics, their mischievous ways." Kendra snorts. "All of those you've shown plenty of, Seth." The Soul Bearer looks him over approvingly, making Seth blush. "You've done well."

"D'awwww," drawls River-Song in boredom. She snarls from her seat by the stairs, gnawing on something that looks suspiciously like a human skull.

Chaos's ears flick in annoyance. "Unfortunately, you're in. However, Mara, I must tick you off the list." The Native American girl rises, black hair framing her exotic features. As she turns to go, Seth hears her murmur, "I did not like you, either, Cadeliah."

"Right." Boro swallows. "Am I getting the boot, O uncle of mine?"

Chaos shakes his head, but the wolf almost looks remorseful. "Poor boy. Nah, you're sticking with us. So are you, Brachy-boy, so don't go scurrying off. Thunder-Bolt and Sand-Heart, you stay with your son. You all have something or another or whatever. Tanu, stick around. Cassandra, Alec, you too. That's everyone, I do believe."

"Explain Wolfen wills!" urges Bracken, leaning forward in his seat, eyes glittering with interest. Beside him, Kendra lounges against his shoulder. "EXPLAIN!"

"I'll let Cadeliah," evades Chaos, stepping back into the shadows of the room and flipping up the hood of his cloak. He leaves behind a little blossom the color of chocolate, closed, each fragile petal tipped with metallic gold and sky blue shimmering together. It's beautiful in an old way; an ancient sort of magnificence, like a musty old book that's been carrying its secrets for centuries that's finally ready to spill.

Fiona shakes. Her face elongates, and fur sprouts along her arms. "I cannot face my mother in this false shape," Fiona whispers as she transforms back into the graceful wolf with chocolate brown fur and the violet gem at her throat. As Fiona grows into her true form, the flower's petals peel apart and release glowing tendrils of gold and blue light.

Seth's jaw drops and his muscles tense as the beautiful flower opens to the world. The brown petals reveal a beautiful sapphire and gold center, made of billowing light. The neon strands slowly reach up to the sky, as if they're twining around something. Seth's eyes widen as the wrapping vines bind up something that appears to be a leg. The strings of light then creep up in a spidery fashion, showing the form of a proud, mighty wolf. An ethereal howl echoes through the house, and two eyes of gold and blue open on an appearing face. The vines of color go as brown as the flower petals. And Cadeliah the Mother Wolf droops to the floor on four legs.

Seth flinches away, but the figure doesn't move. Her gorgeous form is misty and unfocused, tendrils always drifting off of her body. Those bright eyes are the only constant thing, not ever wavering like the rest of her foggy body.

"What—" yelps Seth, stumbling back.

"Wolf wills are different, as previously explained," Boro grunts. "They are previously recorded documentaries from your loved one. This should be interesting, considering Cadeliah could see into the future."

"Yup," whispers Brach, creeping closer to his mother with a nostalgic look in his orangey eyes. "Different. Uh huh. Yeah."

"It is different," agrees Chaos sinisterly. "Very different. I'm going to let Cadeliah take the wheel here. Go get 'em, girl."

"Thank you, Chaos," purrs the mist with Cadeliah's voice. Seth feels like he's been punched. Her voice isn't weird and bubbly or echoing or grieved or anything; it's like it was the days she smiled and the days she laughed and the days she held Seth and the days she talked to him about how anyone could be brilliant and the days she played Zzyxx with the pups. How he misses that time! Kendra buries her head into Bracken's shirt, not even able to look at Cadeliah. Bracken cups her to him protectively. Fiona makes a croaking noise. Brach growls uncertainly. Cassandra sneezes, the sound high-pitched and so oddly hilarious Seth snorts.

Cadeliah ignores them, instead stepping towards Kendra. The mist wolf lowers her head, ears flattening. Her tail tucks between her legs, and the form solidifies until Cadeliah is a glowing wolf of brown light. "Kendra," she purrs gently. Seth blinks, remembering the prerecorded idea. "Kendra, dear, open your eyes. It's only me."

Almost painfully slow, Kendra tilts her head towards Cadeliah, glancing at the wolf fleetingly. Her green eyes swim with pain and confusion. Hurt wracks her voice. "How…?"

"I am an oracle," explains Cadeliah in amusement, stepping back and straightening, tail held high. She arches her neck melodramatically. "I am – or I suppose was – foreseeing this moment. I am responding to your questions because I can hear your questions in the past while I am looking into the – actually, the more you talk about it, the stranger it gets. Let's just drop the subject."

"I'm sorry," whispers Kendra hoarsely. A tear slips down her cheek, quickly swiped up by Bracken. "I'm so, so sorry."

Cadeliah smiles kindly, her form now clear enough that Seth can make out simple things like that. "It wasn't your fault, dear," soothes Cadeliah calmly. "All things die. I was supposed to die long ago, except I made a mistake and lost that damned Soul Stone. I still don't have it in my time. By the way, you don't hide it very well, Seth." Cadeliah's glowing eyes bore into him. "I can feel you tapping into my strength every time you harness its power for your lessons with Chaos."

Chaos cocks his head towards Seth, purple eyes narrowing sinisterly. "You cheated?" he growls sinisterly, awakening primal fear in Seth's gut and making his heart sing with fear.

"Now is really not the time, Chaos," sighs Cadeliah. She bares her white teeth at him, and Chaos surrenders with a _mrffph_ noise. "Right. Back to business." Cadeliah's luminescent eyes sweep the crowd. "Each and every one of you gathered has something from me, something I give willingly; I trust in Chaos to give most of my belongs that are not mentioned in this hologogramy thingy to the Library for the use of the public, and designated others to be sent to museums for future use or just for a little sparkle. I love sparkle."

"I'll say," mutters Alec, eyes flashing. The dark-haired boy leans against the wall, wings tight against his back.

Cadeliah's ears twitch with displeasure. "Was that sarcasm I detected? Just for that, boy, you're going first." Alec seems a bit indifferent, having the guts to shrug. Cadeliah's eyes blaze with something akin to pride. "To you, Alec the Owl Dude, I give my finest wing sheathes."

Alec's eyes widen, becoming two brown pools of awe. Chaos bustles and pulls two queer things from a bag Seth swears wasn't there before. It looks like a pair silver cuffs each attached to a giant hoop, with a few shiny threads of metal connecting the hoop and cuff. The astrid leaps forward and snatches it up, hands trembling.

"Do you have any idea how rare –" He starts, one hand stroking the mirrorlike metal almost religiously.

"Yes, I do," chuckles Cadeliah. "Be careful about letting your girlfriend seem those. Cassandra, help him put them on."

Seth watches in fascination as Cassandra surges forward, gingerly taking the cuffs in her hands. Alec extends his wings so Cassandra has more space to work with. She snaps the hoops around where his speckled wings meet his back, and snuggly fits the cuff around his wingbone. The metallic threads span out along the bone, binding the two together. Her fingers shake slightly as Cassandra attaches the other one.

Once they're both properly fitted, Alec murmurs, "What's the command word?"

Cadeliah makes a noise that sounds like the crash of a wave against the shore. Eyes lighting up, Alec copies the noise. Shock overcomes Seth as a flood of silver rushes over his feathers, originating from the cuff and spidery threads. They seal his plumage in a platinum cover, made from gleaming metal that looks suspiciously like adamant. He makes a sound of awe as Alec gently beats the wings, and the silver casing molds to his movements in a rippling sort of motion.

"Amazing," sighs Cadeliah. "I impress myself sometimes." Her eyes twinkle. "Go take them for a test run, eh?" Alec nods ecstatically and takes off for the door. Seth hears it slam behind the astrid.

"Pricey gift," calls a vaguely familiar voice from the mouth of the kitchen. Seth looks at a proud form, immense and inky black. His golden eyes blaze with the light of a thousand exploding stars, containing the knowledge of worlds lost and memories gained.

"Aladdin," recognizes Tanu in shock.

"Daddy," whispers Flash-Foot a tad bit too quiet to hear.

"You next!" yips Cadeliah happily. Chaos rifles through the burlap sack and emerges with a golden trinket. Seth frowns. It looks somewhat like a bracelet, a bracelet with a symbol like a moon, a sun, and a star etched into the metal. "To you, Aladdin, Time-Wolf of Seven Suns, I give you my immortality band. I just invented it, so of course nobody knows anything about it." Chaos pads across the room and lays the circlet at the black wolf's feet, then creeps back into the shadows.

"This baby," continues Cadeliah, "will force the body to undergo all stages of death if the body is severely injured; in other words, you'll stop breathing and your heart will stop beating. This thing will keep you alive. You'll escape death, so you can lead a new life, over and over again. One of kind. Too complicated to repeat. Wonderful doohickey. Do you accept it?"

"Do I?" Aladdin chuckles and slips it onto one of his front paws. "Of course! I'll be the envy of Time! Nobody has one of these babies!" And with that, Flash-Foot's father disappears in a swirling vortex of gold, leaving Seth very much confused.

"There goes a very odd wolf," murmurs Cadeliah to herself, gazing after her brother. She shakes her head and refocuses on her young nephew.

"Your father loves you, very much so." Her voice is warm and sort of chocolaty. Like, if a voice had a flavor, it would be chocolate. "Flash-Foot, dear, remember that. But Aladdin isn't a patient being; he's temporal and shifting as time itself. It drives him mad to stay still. You will cross paths again, and you will always be loved, my dear, but your father isn't coming home. Best you rejoice in what you still have."

"Okay," whimpers Flash-Foot uncertainly, putting on a brave face.

"You," encourages Cadeliah, "are the most courageous little pup I've ever seen. Which is why you are next, nephew of mine." Chaos groans and sticks his head back in the bag, emerging with something small in his teeth.

Cadeliah's voice drops to a whisper. "This is the Angel Amulet. If you remember, in the mirror room, you saw a version of yourself with bluish fur and wings. That's what happens if you accept this thingy. You will become Flash-Foot the Angel Wolf. One of a kind, just like this thingy. It's a painless process, and, I swear to you, it'd be worth it. But feel free to decline my offer."

Flash-Foot hesitates, looking into Thunder-Bolt's eyes. Thunder-Bolt nods in enticement. Flash-Foot turns back to his ghostly aunt. "Yes," he confirms. "I'll have the amulet."

Chaos scurries forward and presses the silver object against the little grey pup's furry chest. It sort of melts into his skin, dissolving into nothing. The pup yelps as if he'd been shocked a few seconds after it disappears, alarming Sand-Heart. The she wolf growls and glares at Cadeliah.

"Oh, calm down," scolds Cadeliah. "It's nothing. The whole transformation thing will probably take about a week; be careful not to try flying on wings that are still too immature to carry your weight, though. Then you'll end up as a rather disgusting splatter. We wouldn't want that…"

"No," agrees Thunder-Bolt, "we wouldn't. We'll be off." Seth frowns as the wolves depart hastily. Probably just worried Cadeliah will turn their son into a ferret…

"Seth," decrees Cadeliah, turning to him. Seth feels the blood drain from his cheeks. "Your gift, I am rather proud of." Chaos begins to search through the bag, but finds it quickly. Seth's eyes go round at the sight of Vasilis, clamped firmly in the wolf's jaws.

"How—" he stammers in amazement, lunging for the blade. It responds to his touch in a tumult of red fire blooming from the hilt.

"It's not actually Vasilis," explains Cadeliah smugly, a confident smile lifting the corners of her lips. "Just a copy. I'll nick in tomorrow – in my time – and silently borrow it. Perfect imitation. Just like Vasilis, except you get to name it. I highly suggest the name Stormidigen. Why? Because."

"Thank you," whispers Seth, voice quavering. His fingers grip the familiar hilt of Vasilis, and it's as if the blade had never been gone at all. "My god, Cadeliah, thank you."

"Anytime," says Cadeliah easily. She turns to her daughter. "As for you, Fiona." The she wolf freezes in place. "I do not have anything to give you but knowledge. Well, knowledge and an immense public library. This new era will be shaped by the finesse of your carving teeth. The new world will be fashioned in the image you portray. Be good, be wise, and be kind, and never stop blowing up over unnecessary things. Even if all the world is shunning you, even if everyone you love turns their backs, I'll always be here on the other side." Her eyes swim with love, and Cadeliah takes a hesitant step forward. "You are my daughter. And I will forever love you for it."

Fiona swallows with difficulty. Her usually silky voice is rough. "I miss you, Mum."

"You shouldn't," whispers Cadeliah tenderly, "because I'm still with you. I always am. I walk in your dreams, and guard your slumber."

"She does," confirms Boro, tapping a long finger to his golden temple and nodding knowingly. "I can assure that."

Cadeliah narrows her eyes. "You, Wolf Prince, also have an intellectual gift." She settles on her legs, gazing at him testily. "There are some rules, rules that may or may not include bloodlines, that you never should break. However, I am a strong believer that love will reign supreme _annnnddd_ also that every rule has a loophole. The trick is finding it." She winks. "Go get her, tiger."

Boro looks flustered. His golden cheeks go scarlet. Seth watches, entranced. He hadn't known wolves could blush.

"Chaos, River-Song," announces Cadeliah, already moving on. "You have a conjoined knowledgeable gift as well. Can I hear you roar?"

"No," says Chaos calmly at the same times River-Song barks, "Conjoined? With him?"

"Yes." Cadeliah sighs, rolling her eyes at River-Song's disgust. "With him. Chaos. King of Shadows. Boo hoo. Now, both of you feel abandoned. You feel alone. You turned your back on the world before the world could turn its back on you. But it doesn't have to be that way. Not anymore. As you've probably heard a million times, there's this big ol' legend about the Night Brother and the Day Sister. Blah, blah, blah. But look at each other, really look! I can see Chaos's nose on River-Song, and the shape of your eyes is exactly identical. You two are siblings. Say helllloooooooo to your older sis, Chaos!"

"No," says Chaos calmly again. River-Song grunts and shrugs. "Cool. I'm a royal. That's pretty neat."

Cadeliah blinks in astonishment. "Well, I certainly got limited enthusiasm from that one, didn't I?" she sighs tiredly. "Next up, I call Cassandra." The girl's golden hair bobs as she straightens, black eyes sparkling wildly with excitement. "Cassandra, my dear, you have a truly magnificent mind. Despite all of the scorn and dislike you've faced, your blossom has become one of the most beautiful in the orchard. And for that, I gift you the keys to my private journals."

Cassandra clasps a hand over her mouth. "That's right!" laughs Cadeliah. "Thousands upon thousands of my best works, all scratched down onto paper. It's all available to you now. Please, enjoy it."

Cassandra's curls weave crazily as she nods. "Yes! Yes ma'am!" She races up to the bag and snatches a rusted old metal key from out of under Chaos's mouth, dashing back to her spot against the wall to gawk at it. Seth wonders what on earth could possibly be entertaining by that many books.

"Good," murmurs Cadeliah. Her eyes pause on Bracken, and the unicorn tenses. "Bracken, I have something I wish to give to you, and something for both your father and your family. First off, for your family: your father's body is fine, as you might've noticed. He has no physical injury, not even a scar on him anymore. But the fact remains: he's still asleep, even after your best work. That's because it's not his body that's been maimed, not even his mind, but his _spirit_. The Demon King discharged his soul from his body. So, basically, the Fairy King is just wandering aimlessly right now, trying to get back but unable to. That's where my gift comes in."

Chaos steps forward, a silvery coin-like thing held gingerly in his jaws. "This," murmurs Cadeliah, "took me _so_ long to engineer. I can't even explain the amount of effort placed into this small device. Basically, it's one of your unicorn communicators. I suppose. You could say that it's a bit like a beacon, to lead your father home. I guess. This is all just vague. I can't really explain, because then I'll confuse myself. But, pretty much, lay this on his left wrist, right overtop those life-pumping veins, and let it do its magic."

Bracken takes the coin and thanks Cadeliah fervently, not even stopping. Seth resists the urge to go "Awww" when he realizes that Kendra's just as happy for Bracken as he is for himself, if not more.

"Your gift," continues the former Soul Bearer, "is the return of your third horn. Not right now," she adds hastily. "I don't have it stuffed away in some bag collecting dust. But, ever since you gave up your horn, I've been wondering and wondering and thinking and thinking. Finally, I've come up with a solution. You can tie the horn's power to the Font of Immortality without separating your bond with the horn. So, you can walk around with the third horn at your hip, and the Font of Immortality will basically still be drawing energy from it. Chaos has the blueprints. Hard to explain. But every king needs to be at the height of his power…" Cadeliah trails off as Chaos bustles a blueprint scroll into Bracken's face.

For a second, the expression on the unicorn's face is pure and savage lust as he claims the scroll, unfurling it. But then he pauses. Then he looks at Kendra, who's gone completely blank. Then he hesitates. And then Bracken furls it back up again, sticking it in his pocket for maybe later observation. Kendra laces her fingers through his, and leans her head on the unicorn's shoulder. Behind the pair, Brach makes disgusted faces.

"Son of mine," scolds Cadeliah firmly. "That's rude."

Brach's ears flatten. "Sorry, Mum."

"Oh, please." Cadeliah snorts. "Anyhow, you're up next. Then Tanu and then Birthday Girl for last! Ooo, fun! Brach, to you I give you a free spirit. Cadeliah leans forward, closing her eyes and breathing out. Seth gawks in fascination as a storm of twisting rainbow colors comes with her breath, slowly twirling around the room until Brach breathes them in. His eyes light up for a second, and his breathing hitches.

"A free spirit," explains Cadeliah, "is a sort of happiness that never goes away. You will wander and love and wander and protect and wander and basically just wander. It's a glorious life, one I lead for the longest of times. I pass my good times onto you, Son, and for you to pass on eventually to your favorite child." Her eyes spark in excitement. "Ooooo, your daughter is so cute!"

"Focus," reminds Chaos.

"Right." Cadeliah shakes her head. She looks at Tanu with renewed interest. "I do believe on the day you first learn I am Cadeliah you ask me a question, somewhat along the lines of, 'As a beautiful, perfect, wonderful Soul Bearer such as Her Highness, wouldn't you, Cadeliah my Sole Light, have so potions tales to share with a meager beggar such as myself?'" Her eyes gleam. "No, not really. But you did ask about potions, and I never got around to it. Well, here I am!"

Chaos chucks a leather-bound book at Tanu. The Samoan catches it in surprise.

"102 Potions Every Master Should Know, by Cadeliah," gloats the she wolf. "One of my better works, might I say. Basically, there's a lot more than 102 potions in that scrappy novel." Cadeliah grins. "That small, not even half an inch thick book is actually a textbook ranging anywhere from seven hundred to a thousand pages long, I forget. It's based on a complicated spell. Looks like there's fifty, but there's not. It's chock full of helpful potions and ideas to get you out of a synch. It'll come in handy, I can assure."

"I'm sure it will," answers Tanu evenly, but Seth can see the excitement in his eyes. The Samoan immediately begins to flip through the pages, making the weirdest noises in the world as he studies things on the yellow paper.

"And finally," purrs Cadeliah, sitting down in the center of the room and wrapping her tail around her legs, "we've come to Kendra, last but certainly not least."

Kendra starts nervously, calmed only by Bracken's reassurance. Her green eyes dart around the room.

"As I understand it," thrums Cadeliah, cocking her head, "you've been silently pondering upon becoming an Eternal. Not a bad idea, honestly; immortal, plus Bracken's bound to stick around to protect you from all the assassins." Bracken looks at the blushing Kendra in surprise, leading Seth to believe that this isn't new just to him. "However, I just noted the bad side to that. Key word: _assassins_. That screams no-no to me. Call me crazy. But don't despair, sweetie; there are other ways to obtain immortality."

The striped wolf steps forward, with something lovely this time. Hovering gently above Chaos's black nose is a beautiful pearl. The white surface gleams with pastel shades of green and pink, roughly the size of a grapefruit.

"If you have a good memory," explains Cadeliah, "you'll remember that this was on display in the Council Room, the place I will – er, I mean I did – lie to you about the hides. It's called an Immortality Pearl, and was named by Captain Obvious. This thing… well, it doesn't give you immortality, but it slows your aging dramatically." She eyes Kendra. "It slows you down to the aging of a unicorn." Kendra's knuckles go white around Bracken's hand. "There are many legends surrounding this thing, and the others like it, but the most popular is that it's the first tear shed by a twelve-horned unicorn. Yes, Bracken, those exist. Please remember, my dear: you don't have to accept it. You might be happy with your life. Just remember all the variables, alright?" Cadeliah's glowing eyes are imploring.

"I will," whispers Kendra hoarsely. "Trust me, I will."

Cadeliah smiles tenderly. "I know you will, child. But my time has ended. Goodbye, everyone! I love you, Fiona!"

And with that, the chocolate flower lying on the ground snaps shut and withers, dying and taking the reminiscent of Cadeliah's spirit with it. Seth gawks at the dried out blossom, trying to remember the sound of her voice. Already, he can feel the memories growing foggy.

"Well," sums up Kendra, "this sure as hell is a crappy choice."

* * *

**Sorry for the long chapter! Many apologies! For those of you that are interested, that is the final return of Cadeliah. She's dead now. For real. Very dead. Dead, dead, dead. Poor Fiona, right?**

**Personally, it'd suck to be Kendra right now. She fears being immortal because of what Lena said to her about watching those she loved grow old around her, right? But at the same time, she loves Bracken with all her heart. And Bracken; he can either reclaim all his power and risk reclaiming the standoffish unicorn attitude, or he can remain weak for the love of his life and pretty much kiss his throne goodbye. Thanks, Cadeliah. You're so helpful. **

**POLL: Do you have any idea that you'd like to see happen for the sequel, while it's still in the beginning stages? Any relationships, and tense scenes, any particular characters? Please share!**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	38. Chapter 37

**This is a bit of a short chapter, because, well, everything's sort of been resolved already. **

**Okay, guys, let's work on last chapter's poll a bit more, okay? Because I get that you like Brackendra. That you REALLY like Brackendra. But I don't know what else you want more of. More of Chaos's crude humor, more of Fiona's snappy remarks, or more of Cassandra's stupid blonde behavior? (NOTE: I AM A BLONDE, DO NOT TAKE THAT THE WRONG WAY, BLONDE JOKES ARE JUST TOO FUNNY TO HATE.) **

**Thank you for your useful opinions, That Guy and marshapono**

**PS: there will be plenty of Brackendra in the sequel. ;)**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

Gingerly, Bracken lays the coin on his father's pale inner wrist, right across the silvery veins. The metal pulses in a small flash of purple light the moment it touches his skin. Bracken recoils as it blazes with heat, shaking like a boiling kettle. It hisses for a second, and his eager family crowds a bit closer, eyes wide in expectation.

Then, suddenly, the coin quiets and lays still. A white light burns underneath Bracken's father's eyelids, and underneath his hand, Bracken can feel his systems pump at their normal speed. The man's hand twitches and he releases a guttural groan. Heidi, Bracken's second to youngest sister, makes a noise like a duck in her worry. Then, like a window sliding open, the Fairy King's lids slide open to reveal shimmering silver irises underneath.

Joy courses through Bracken, and he smiles warmly at his confused father. "Welcome back," whispers Bracken's mother. She lays her head against his shoulder. The Fairy King's puzzled frown deepens, but he strokes her long hair reassuringly. His eyes widen, probably noticing that all his children had aged, and his silvery eyebrows pinch together. Rubbing the Fairy Queen's back with one hand and stroking Burneda's little head with the other, he mouths to Bracken, "What happened?"

Bracken smiles and mouths back, "A lot of stuff."

But then something hits Bracken, as hard as a punch in the gut. Blind terror rolls over his mind, but it isn't his own. Bracken stiffens, eyes wide, as another mind momentarily lapses onto the horn so desperately clasped to her chest. He shudders, closing his eyes, and the moment passes.

Feeling a bit guilty, Bracken rises abruptly, stepping backwards and away from his father's sickbed. Ikia's head jerks up, and she glares at Bracken hostilely. She follows him as he backs out of the room, somewhat remorsefully. Her blue eyes burn.

Bracken tries in vain to escape his old sister's wrath before she can catch up with him, racing down the corridor, but before he knows it, she's standing in front of him. Ikia crosses her arms and scowls at Bracken, lips curling into a snarl. He stops short, skidding to a halt.

"What is it?" Ikia hisses, blocking Bracken as he futilely tries to jump around her barrier in the hallway. "What on earth could possibly be more important than Father?"

"She's having a nightmare," explains Bracken simply, shouldering his way past.

* * *

Fiona breathes in the crisp night air, the chill burning her lungs as it travels down her throat. She hears the soft whisper of Boro's paws over the leaves, and the quiet pant of his mighty breathing. Some lustful part of her wishes he'd cross the rest of the distance and join her in looking up at the night sky, but he pauses around five feet away.

"Pretty moon tonight," murmurs his silky voice, and Fiona can just picture him tipping up his golden head to gaze at the stars, lilac eyes examining the sky. It sends a jab of ice into her stomach. "Do you like the night?"

Fiona avoids the question. "Have you heard the legend about Chaos?" she questions, not tearing her eyes from the velvety black sky dotted with silver speckles.

Boro chuckles. "Which one?"

"The one about the stars." She closes her eyes, breathing out through her mouth, envisioning the story as she tells it. "The one about the love of his life."

Boro grows deathly silent. "Yes," he answers finally. "I have heard that one."

"They say," Fiona whispers, "that her name was Firefly. Every night, she'd look up at the stars and watch them. Every night. Not once did she look away. And they say that that drew young Prince Chaos to her, because he loved the night, too. Slowly, he opened up to her. And even more slowly, they say the pair fell in love. Real love. True love. Disney Princess love. They say he gave up the throne so he could stay with her." She opens her eyes to gaze at the stars once more. "And, according to legend, they had three healthy pups.

"Chaos became so happy that he offered anything in the world to Firefly, confident with his abilities. 'Anything,' he said, 'that is fit for a queen such as you.' Firefly, too, believed her mate could do no wrong. She turned her muzzle up to the sky, when the night was beautiful and clear just like this one, and wished for a star." Fiona closes her eyes again, voice quavering. "A star. Of all things. And Chaos would come true to his promise."

Boro falls quiet.

Fiona struggles to keep her voice from cracking. "They say that she straightened his cloak and licked clean the opal stone she'd given him to clasp it together. They say he held her close and whispered about how he'd be back at the morning's first light." Fiona swallows. "And he ascended into the sky like hell's angel, coat still white and spotless, unbeknownst of the things to come. For it is told that while he was climbing the heavens, literally battling gods and goddesses for his love's desire, that the Great Wolves fell and my mother lost her Soul Stone.

"Poor Chaos descended mightily, chest puffed with pride, racing down like an angel to his mate's den with a beautiful star clutched in his jaws just as the dawn light peaked over the ridge. They say it was so cold it burned with its own white fire. Chaos patrolled his den once, and marched inside to meet the love of his life."

"Fiona," warns Boro softly. He inches closer, and yet Fiona continues with sadness.

"They say that he entered his den to be met with the stench of death. They say that he dropped the star in shock at the sight of his mate and three pups lying in pools of blood. They say he wailed, and that a single teardrop landed on the white star.

"That teardrop smoked and sizzled, the fumes staining his face with black stripes. He curled around their dead bodies and wept, each tear lengthening his bands of black a little more, until he was striped all over.

"When he rose" – Fiona gulps – "he was consumed by rage. They say he threw a tentrum that shook the heavens, tracking down the murderers of his family like a demon. In his fury, they say he sunk the entire country of Atlantis, sending it to a watery doom. They say that he buried his family's bodies with the protection of the cold star, and cursed the souls of their killers to never find peace.

"They also say he never loved after that. His heart had belonged to one she wolf and three pups, and that's all it ever belonged to, or ever will. It's his curse. He lost all of his loves, and yet he's forced to live a life of exile because of his mourning."

Fiona's heart pounds as she turns to Boro, ears leveling. "That's why I don't want to fall in love with you. Prince Chaos neglected his duties as the King for true love, and then had everything he ever cared about ripped from him. I can't bear the thought of that happening to you." A tear slips down her cheek, landing in the emerald grass.

Boro rises to his feet, opening his mouth to say something. But before he can utter a word, a silver blur races between them, just a flash. Fiona's eyes trail it as it crosses the yard and skips up the steps. Boro curses in surprise. "Was that Bracken?"

"Yeah." Fiona huffs. "What's his problem?"

Boro shrugs. "He's a unicorn. Those things are _weird_. Ten bucks it's about Kendra, though."

Fiona hesitates. "I think the odds are stacked against me in that bet."

"They are," agrees Boro. Abruptly, his playful manner changes, as if he remembers what he'd been about to say before Bracken's rude interruption. "Fiona…" His purple eyes shine. "Fiona, what happened to Chaos is not going to happen to me. To us."

"How come?" demands Fiona tenaciously.

"For starters, we have your mother's blessing." He cocks his head. "It's really not the best mothering in the world if she advises you to get together with the one that'll kill you. And, secondly, Chaos was all alone. That's always been his downfall; he longs for friends and companions, but he realizes that they're just going to end up like Firefly and his pups."

"So, the story was true?" blurts Fiona.

"Yes." Boro sighs. "That one is true. But… don't go around telling it. Don't tell it right now, because he can be and probably is shadow-walking somewhere around here to eavesdrop. However, this isn't about him." He takes another step forward, until he's practically beside Fiona. Her muscles tremble with the stress of their proximity. "Fiona, all I know is that I love you. I've been trying to stay away from you for the longest time, and your obvious interests in me haven't been doing me any good. That's why I hurt you, the first time. I thought that grief would be enough to destroy any emotions you had for me, even if it meant tearing myself apart in the process. These other girls, they've just been distractions. Distractions and reminders that I've got to stay away from you. But, Fiona, they aren't working anymore." His shoulder brushes her, and his purple eyes regard her intently. "I can't stay away from you."

Fiona doesn't say anything at first, but leans back and savors the warmth of his golden fur. He curls around her, seemingly unwilling to speak as well. Finally, Fiona swallows and whispers hoarsely, "Why haven't you said so before, dummy?"

Boro chuckles, and a beautiful song undulates in the distance. Fiona's ears prick to the sound of Chaos's mournful voice, so deep and perhaps even more beautiful than her mother's, howling in grief. As he involves himself in the wordless lullaby, another tear rolls down her cheek at his misery and longing to be with those he loves. And, as the King of Shadows launches into the beautiful chorus, a sob escapes her throat.

"_Listen_

_Listen, my children_

_Look up at – the stars!_

_Listen to them singing,_

_Singing,_

_Your song!_

"_Softly_

_Softly, my children_

_Sing up to – the stars!_

_Sing for your mother,_

_Softly,_

_Your song!_

"_Sadly_

_Sadly, my children_

_I sing you – to sleep!_

_Just close your eyes now,_

_Sadly, _

_Your song!"_

"My god," Fiona whispers, tears flowing like rain. "Listen to him, Boro. He's singing his children to sleep. That's what he was always singing, every night at Caelum Amplexu. We were just too far away to understand him. Oh, that poor old wolf."

"That poor old wolf," agrees Boro.

* * *

"Oh. Hey." Warren glances at Vanessa in surprise. "I, uh, didn't know you were up."

Vanessa smirks. "Well, now you do." She stirs her cocoa and prances out of the room, into the family room. Bewildered, Warren follows, curious as to what she's doing at this time of night. He enters the room to see Vanessa collapsed on a maroon couch, flipping on the TV at the exact second he walks in.

Instantly, the news shocks him, with headlines like, PLAGUED BY NATURAL AND UNNATURAL DISASTERS, WILL CHINA SURVIVE? And, CAN PEOPLE REALLY SEE DRAGONS AND FAIRIES, OR IS THIS JUST A FRIGHTENING NEW CULT?

"Oh, my god," whispers Warren in shock. "What—"

"Exactly," amends Vanessa as footage from Hong Kong burning to the ground. In the corner of the screen, Warren can make out the forms of agile wolves dancing between the flicking flames. "How could I sleep in a time like this?"

"What's going on?" he demands, plopping down on the couch next to her. "Why are the wolves doing that? They're – they're good."

"They are the Keepers of Balance," corrects Vanessa, eyes blazing as she turns to Warren. "Remember what Fiona said? This is just the beginning. The human race will be torn from its mighty empire, and we'll be placed equally with all the species. They're only giving us what we deserve. That's all they're ever going to give us. I wonder what sort of world will emerge."

Before Warren can respond, the front door slams. Bracken bolts in the room, briefly makes a face at Vanessa, and then flies up the stairs. With a frown, Warren trails him up to the first step.

"What's got his goat?" he wonders aloud.

Vanessa shrugs cockily. "Unicorns are weird. I bet my left leg it has something to do with Kendra."

Warren's eyes twinkle. "I would take you up on that, but I have no desire for your left leg."

Vanessa cocks an eyebrow. "Well, you should." She extends it, red painted nails gleaming in the light cast from the TV. "You could pay millions for this beauty. It's gorrrr-geous."

"Agreed," chuckles Warren, pulling Vanessa in for a midnight kiss.

* * *

Kendra awakens with a snap, bolting upright. She cracks her forehead against something hard, causing her to recoil again. Blinking and trying to right herself, she recognizes her surroundings in the dim dark. Even with her light, the room is eerie all alone, so she'd set up a night light with a rainbow unicorn on it, and with that light she sees a very familiar pair of eyes staring back at her.

"Welcome back," he chuckles, stroking up and down her spine in soothing cycles. Silvery hair hangs in his handsome face, that face Kendra knows so, so well. His blue eyes are filled with such adoration that Kendra shivers in his firm embrace. Disoriented, Kendra notes as he lowers his lips to her ear. "You were having a nightmare," he whispers huskily.

"Bracken," Kendra gasps, throwing her hands around his neck. She clutches her trembling form against his sculpted form. Bracken's arms readjust and grip her to him, matching the force Kendra hugs him with. The crushing weight in his embrace makes Kendra's breath jar, but she closes her eyes, resolve returning. "You shouldn't be here," she breathes into his silky hair. "Your father."

Bracken draws back, and Kendra can practically feel his amusement. "My father, yes. He saw me, after he revived. I saw him. He's fine. A bit confused, but fine."

Kendra rubs her head with one hand, frowning. "But – how –"

"How am I here?" Bracken shrugs. "You were having a nightmare. How could I not be here?"

Kendra stares at him incredulously for a few seconds. "You," she whispers, placing a hand on his profiled face, "left your father that's been in a coma for a thousand years, made the Fairy Realm vulnerable by passing through dimensions, raced through the woods in the dark, and stormed upstairs just because _I was having a nightmare_."

Bracken smiles sheepishly. "Yeah," he admits. "That's how important you are to me."

Kendra doesn't respond, just wraps her hands around his torso. She traces a line of welts along his back with disapproval. Frowning, Kendra whispers, "Why didn't you get this healed?"

Bracken's smile grows. "I was a bit preoccupied. I never knew a human could swing an umbrella with that much force."

Despite Kendra's warnings, Bracken had decided to stay right next to her as they broke the news of the Immortality Pearl to Mom. Mom, being the reasonable being she is, immediately grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be an old umbrella, and began bludgeoning Bracken brutally, not caring that Kendra still wasn't sure what to pick.

"I'm sorry," Kendra apologizes, retracting her hand.

"I don't mind." Bracken sinks in a little closer to her, perfect lips moving gently in the darkness. "And, in all honesty, your hands felt good along my battle wounds." He props himself up on one elbow. "Maybe I should get you to tend to my injuries more often…"

Kendra's heart pounds. "I'd gladly do it," she murmurs, lacing her fingers through his hair. Something clicks in her mind. "When are you going to reclaim your third horn?"

He looks away, thumb stroking her cheek absentmindedly. To Kendra, he seems mildly embarrassed. "I'm not sure I want to. Not yet."

Kendra recoils, shocked. "You don't want to – why? My god, Bracken, you've been nostalgic for your horn since I first met you! How come you've changed your mind all the sudden?"

The thumb on Kendra's cheek freezes. He's definitely embarrassed now. "A unicorn's third horn is his pride and joy. You're right to be incredulous of my unwillingness to claim it once more." His eyes flash to hers. "But, Kendra, you seem… uncomfortable with the fact that I'm a unicorn." A blush colors his pale cheeks. "I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I want you more than anything else, and if I can't have you and my third horn…" He shrugs. "Then I won't."

Kendra lifts her hand and slaps him across the cheek. Bracken flinches, touching the hand that'd been caressing Kendra to where she'd slapped him in shock. "You stupid," Kendra hisses, "_stupid_ unicorn."

Kendra's practically blowing smoke as she growls, "I was uncomfortable because I loved you, and that maybe I shouldn't. Just a kid. You know, before Caelum Amplexu. I was afraid you thought of me as just another adoring fairy. An amusement. I see that isn't true anymore. And, Mister, you'd better reclaim that horn or face my wrath!"

Bracken's face quirks into a smile. He cocks his head. "You've made me curious now. What about the Pearl? What are you deciding to do?"

Kendra swallows painfully, wishing her unicorn hadn't brought that up. "I guess that's up to you." Her eyes gaze into his imploringly. "If you want me around for all of eternity, then I'll be yours. If you'd rather me live short and sweet, I'll wither and die with my family."

Bracken looks at Kendra for a long time. Worry clogs her throat, and Kendra discovers she's unable to speak. Suddenly, Bracken throws himself at her, catching her lips with his. Kendra wraps her hands in his hair, loving the sensation of him, and only him. He breaks apart with a ragged gasp, blue eyes burning with passion. "I want you," he whispers gently, placing his hand along her face. "And I'll have you for all of eternity if I can. But it's up to you, darling; would you like to be my princess, and later my queen?"

Kendra wraps her arms around his neck, relishing his warmth and the swirl of that wonderful, wonderful breath against her face. "Of course," she whispers.

On the outer edges of Kendra's subconscious, she hears a wolf breaks into song.

* * *

**I started crying when I was writing about Chaos, so sorry this chapter took so long to come out. **

**ALSO: TODAY, OCTOBER 5, 2013 IS MY BIRTHDAY! WISH ME HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**

**POLL: Last poll, except with more detail. -_- Thank you, That Guy and marshapono. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO HAPPEN?**

**PS: there's only the epilogue left :P**

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


	39. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Good, good!" growls Chaos as Seth readjusts his blade. "Vasilis II is made of anger, of hate, of bloodlust. All very useful in a battle against a minor opponent, one who favors brawn, but with a clever one? You'd be dead before your hand could touch the hilt! Wisdom, Seth, wisdom and skill come before emotional fuel in any battle. Use your brains! Outthink me!"

Chaos's eyes quickly spot the boy's tactic before the blazing sword is even hefted by the differentiation in Vasilis II's fire. As the sharp sword swings down, Chaos skips out of the way and counterattacks with a blow to his shin. Seth falls with an oof in the grass, blade skittering out of his hand.

"Again," grunts Seth, determination brimming in his weary eyes. Chaos examines the boy and scowls. He studies Seth's trembling muscles, the red blood trickling down his cheek, the sheen of sweat covering his body, and the ragged pattern of his breathing.

"No," decides Chaos crisply, sitting down.

Seth's so surprised the boy nearly drops his sword. The shock in his eyes quickly becomes suspicion. "Is this one of your tests?" he barks, eyes piercing cruelly into Chaos. "I don't want to stop. I want to get it right. Then I'll stop."

"No," refuses Chaos.

"Why not?" explodes Seth, his lip curling in anger. The sword burns in his hands.

Chaos cocks an eyebrow. "Calm. You're exhausted, boy. Anything now would be counter-productive." He feels Seth about to retaliate, but beats the child to it. "No, I am not doubting your abilities or anything ridiculous like that. You are, in all honesty, one of the best pupils I've trained in a long while. That's why I nicknamed you Little Wolf," he adds matter-of-factly.

Seth's mouth drops open. "You –"

"Me," agrees Chaos. "Now, go inside and help Kendra hide Bracken from your mother. She'll need all the help she can get. Don't come back until you're fully rested and healed by Unicorn Boy."

Seth nods, sliding Vasilis back in its scabbard. He picks up his leather jacket and slings it over his shoulders, marching back to the yard. Chaos watches him go, and strangely feel entitled to say something else.

"Boy!" Chaos calls, rising to his feet. Seth pauses and glances back curiously, brown eyes gleaming with interest. Chaos's voice deepens slightly. "Boy, you should know: you've done well. I'm impressed. You've done well."

And then Chaos smiles.

LINE BREAK

"And they all lived happily ever after," Aladdin whispers. He gazes out at the fine land, at the lush green of the Fablehaven mansion, at the towering forests that make up the sanctuary, and at the brilliant sapphire sky with the sun climbing higher with every passing second. Aladdin shakes his head. "Oh, how I wish that could be."

LINE BREAK

**D'awwwww. This made me smile as I was typing it. **

**Sorry for the shortness, but I've already resolved everything but these two, practically. I had to finish it up. **

**Now, onto the difficult stuff. **

**My sequel will be called "Jumping at Shadows", for those interested. Basically, a bunch of humans get ticked off at the wolves and other fantastical species for trying to "oppress" the humanity's growth. As the title suggest, Chaos will be a main character in this new sequel. **

**HOWEVER. I am willing to open this up to anyone who would like a kick at writing fanfiction. Say… say you want River-Song and Brach to fall in love, and you want to try your luck with writing an addition to my fanfiction. Shoot me a review so I'll be able to follow your work, and then go right ahead. Nothing would please me more. If you reread, there's a lot of things that Cadeliah or another wolf mentioned that would be fun to go into if I had the time or space in this story: the Dragon Mother, the shamans, and whoever was giving Cadeliah those riddles. I can't express how heartwarming that'd be for me. But if you don't like writing, don't bother. **

**If you guys have any friends that want to do anything with this fanfiction, like, I dunno, turn it into a YouTube manga series or something, feel free. I don't think that'd happen, but if you want to, go for it. Also, fanart would be cool, but I'm pretty sure nobody likes my story that much.**

**I'd like to thank all of you for sticking with me since the beginning and following my work. I thought this would become just one of the many Fablehaven fanfictions locked away in a dusty cupboard. How wrong was I? Thank you so much for all of your support. I wish I could express my gratitude personally. And, if you like my fanfiction and you've got an account, favoriting it would mean so much to me. **

**Please, follow Cadeliah's example: Love others, and forgive all, no matter what they've done to you, no matter how many times you've been hurt. HINT: IF YOU WANT ME TO WRITE FASTER, REVIEW LIKE CRAZY AND I'LL WRITE LIKE CRAZY! SEE HOW THIS WORKS?**

**Right! This is the last one, guys! **

**POLL: what did you like most about my fanfiction, and what didn't you like? Please, make your review legitimate and detailed. **

**Ciao,**

**~wolfluvermh**


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